Ecclesiastes 11

Boldly Face the Future

11Invest what you have,

because after a while you will get a return.

²Invest what you have in several different businesses,

because you don’t know what disasters might happen.

³If clouds are full of rain,

they will shower on the earth.

A tree can fall to the north or south,

but it will stay where it falls.

⁴Those who wait for perfect weather

will never plant seeds;

those who look at every cloud

will never harvest crops.

⁵You don’t know where the wind will blow,

and you don’t know how a baby grows inside the mother.

In the same way, you don’t know what God is doing,

or how he created everything.

⁶Plant early in the morning,

and work until evening,

because you don’t know if this or that will succeed.

They might both do well.

Serve God While You Are Young

⁷Sunshine is sweet;

it is good to see the light of day.

⁸People ought to enjoy every day of their lives,

no matter how long they live.

But they should also remember this:

You will be dead a long time.

Everything that happens then is useless.

⁹Young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young;

be happy while you are young.

Do whatever your heart desires,

whatever you want to do.

But remember that God will judge you

for everything you do.

¹⁰Don’t worry,

and forget the troubles of your body,

because youth and childhood are useless.