Living in the Light of the Limits of Human Knowledge

11 Send out your bread on the water,

for in many days you will find it.

2 Divide your share in seven or in eight,

for you do not know what disaster will happen on the earth.

3 When the clouds are full,

they empty rain on the earth.

Whether a tree falls to the south or whether it falls to the north,

the place where the tree falls—there it will be.

4 Whoever watches the wind will not sow;

whoever watches the clouds will not reap.

5 Just as you do not know how the path of the winda goes,

nor how the bones of a fetus form in a mother’s womb,

so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

6 Sow your seed in the morning,

and do not let your hands rest in the evening,

for you do not know what will prosper—

whether this or that, or whether both of them alike will succeed.

Enjoy Life to the Fullest within the Auspices of the Fear of God

7 The light is sweet,

and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

8 For if a man lives many years,

let him rejoice in all of them!

Let him remember that the days of the darkness will be many—

all that is coming is vanity!

9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth!

Follow the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes—

but know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.

10 Banish anxiety from your heart,

and put away pain from your body,

for youth and vigor are vanity.

Advice to the Young: Life is Short and Then You Die

12 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth—

before the days of trouble come

and the years draw near when you will say,

“I find no pleasure in them!”

2 Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars darken

and the clouds return after the rain.

3 When the guards of the house tremble,

and the men of strength are bent;

the grinders cease because they are few,

and those looking through the windows see dimly.

4 When the doors on the street are shut,

when the sound of the grinding mill is low;

one rises up to the sound of the bird,

and all the daughters of song are brought low.

5 They are afraid of heights,

and terrors are on the road.

The almond tree blossoms,

and the grasshopper draws itself along, and desire fails

because man goes to his eternal home,

and the mourners go about in the streets.

6 Before the silver cord is snapped

and the golden bowl is broken;

and the jar at the foundation is broken,

and the wheel at the cistern is broken.

7 And the dust returns to the earth as it was,

and the breath returns to God who gave it.

Motto Restated

8 “Vanity of vanity!” says the Teacher.a

“Everything is vanity!”