Ecclesiastes 11–12

CHAPTER 11

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

^1aCast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you ^bwill find it ¹after many days.

^2aDivide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what ^bcalamity may occur on the earth.

³If the clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it ¹lies.

⁴He who ¹watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵Just as you do not ^aknow ¹the path of the wind and ^bhow bones are formed in the womb of the ²pregnant woman, so you do not ^cknow the work of God who works all things.

⁶Sow your seed ^ain the morning and do not put your hands down in the evening, for you do not know whether ¹morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

⁷The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to ^asee the sun.

⁸Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him ^abe glad in them all, and let him remember the ^bdays of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be vanity.

⁹Be glad, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be merry during the days of young manhood. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the ^asights of your eyes. Yet know that ^bGod will bring you to judgment for all these things.

¹⁰So, remove vexation from your heart and put away ^aevil from your flesh because childhood and the prime of life are vanity.

CHAPTER 12

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

^1aRemember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the ^bevil days happen and the years draw near in which you will say, “I have no delight in them”;

²before the ^asun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain;

³in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and valiant men ^abend down, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and ^bthose who look through ¹windows grow dark;

⁴and the doors on the street are shut as the ^asound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the ^bdaughters of song will ¹sing softly.

⁵Furthermore, ¹men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blooms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal ^ahome, but the ^bmourners go about in the street.

⁶Remember Him before the silver ¹cord is ²snapped and the ^agolden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the spring is broken and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;

⁷then the ^adust will return to the earth as it was, and the ^1bspirit will return to ^cGod who gave it.

⁸“^aVanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out, and ¹arranged ^amany proverbs.

¹⁰The Preacher sought to find ^adelightful words and ^bwords of truth written uprightly.

¹¹The ^awords of wise men are like ^bgoads, and masters of these collections are like ¹well-driven ^cnails; they are given by one Shepherd.

¹²But in addition to this, my son, be warned: the making of ^amany books is endless, and much ^bdevotion to books is wearying to the flesh.

¹³The end of the matter, all that has been heard: ^afear God and ^bkeep His commandments, because this is the end of the matter for ^call mankind.

¹⁴For ^aGod will bring every work to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.