Ecclesiastes 11–12

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

11^fCast your bread upon the waters,

^gfor you will find it after many days.

^2hGive a portion to ⁱseven, or even to eight,

^jfor you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

³If the clouds are full of rain,

they empty themselves on the earth,

and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

⁴He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the way ^kthe spirit comes to ^lthe bones in the womb¹ of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed, and at evening ^mwithhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

⁷Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to ⁿsee the sun.

⁸So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember ^othat the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is ^pvanity.²

^9qRejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. ^rWalk in the ways of your heart and ^sthe sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things ^tGod will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Remove vexation from your heart, and ^uput away pain³ from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

12Remember also your Creator in ^vthe days of your youth, before ^wthe evil days come and the years draw near of which ^xyou will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ²before ^ythe sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, ³in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ^zthose who look through the windows are dimmed, ⁴and ^athe doors on the street are shut—when ^bthe sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all ^cthe daughters of song are brought low— ⁵they are afraid also of what is high, and ^dterrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,¹ and desire fails, because man is going to his ^eeternal ^fhome, and the ^gmourners go about the streets— ⁶before the silver cord is snapped, or ^hthe golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ⁱshattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, ⁷and ^jthe dust returns to the earth as it was, and ^kthe spirit returns to God ^lwho gave it. ^8mVanity² of vanities, says ⁿthe Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹Besides being wise, ⁿthe Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging ^omany proverbs with great care. ¹⁰ⁿThe Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

^11pThe words of the wise are like goads, and like ^qnails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^rgiven by ^sone Shepherd. ¹²My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^umany books there is no end, and ^vmuch study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³The end of the matter; all has been heard. ^wFear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.^{3 14}For ^xGod will bring every deed into judgment, with⁴ every secret thing, whether good or evil.