Ecclesiastes 11:1–10

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.