10 This proverb criticizes those who are overly cautious. The farmer who waits for the most opportune moment to plant when there is no wind to blow away the seed, and to reap when there is no rain to ruin a ripe harvest, will never do anything but sit around waiting for the right moment.
11 Heb “what is the way of the wind.” Some take these words with what follows: “how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman.” There is debate whether הָרוּחַ מַה־דֶּרֶךְ (mah-derekh haruakh) refers to the wind (“the path of the wind”) or the human spirit of a child in the mother’s womb (“how the spirit comes”). The understood it as the wind: “the way of the wind” (ἡ ὁδὸς τοῦ πνεύματος, hē hodos tou pneumatos); however, the and take it as the human spirit. The English versions are divided: (1) spirit: “the way of the spirit” (, , ); “the breath of life” (); “how a pregnant woman comes to have … a living spirit in her womb” (); “how the lifebreath passes into the limbs within the womb of the pregnant woman” (); “how the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child” (); “how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb” (); and (2) wind: “the way of the wind” (, margin); “the path of the wind” (, ); and “how the wind blows” (, ).
12 The term “form” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
13 Heb “the one who is full.” The feminine adjective מְלֵאָה (méle’ah, from מָלֵא, male’, “full”) is used as a substantive referring to a pregnant woman whose womb is filled with her infant ( מָלֵא 2; 571 מָלֵא). This term is used in reference to a pregnant woman in later Hebrew ( מָלֵא). The understood the term in this sense: κυοφορούσης (kuophorousēs, “pregnant woman”).
14 Heb “do not let your hand rest.” The Hebrew phrase “do not let your hand rest” is an idiom that means “do not stop working” or “do not be idle” (e.g., Eccl 7:18); cf. 628 נוּחַ B.1. Several English versions capture the sense of the idiom well: “do not stop working” (); “do not be idle” (); “let not your hand be idle” (); “let not your hands be idle” (); “stay not your hand” (). The term “hand” is a synecdoche of part (i.e., do not let your hand rest) for the whole person (i.e., do not allow yourself to stop working).
15 The terms “morning” (בֹּקֶר, boqer) and “evening” (עֶרֶב, ’erev) form a merism (a figure of speech using two polar extremes to include everything in between) that connotes “from morning until evening.” The point is not that the farmer should plant at two times in the day (morning and evening), but that he should plant all day long (from morning until evening). This merism is reflected in several translations: “in the morning … until evening” (, ).
16 The term “activity” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
17 The verb כָּשֵׁר (kasher, “to prosper”) is used metonymically to denote “will succeed.” In 11:10, it means “skill in work.”
18 Or “together.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

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

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

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Whoever watches the wind will not plant;

whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

As you do not know the path of the wind,

or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,

so you cannot understand the work of God,

the Maker of all things.

Sow your seed in the morning,

and at evening let your hands not be idle,

for you do not know which will succeed,

whether this or that,

or whether both will do equally well.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

One who watches the wind will not sow,

and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.

Just as you don’t know the path of the wind,

or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman,

so also you don’t know the work of God who makes everything.

In the morning sow your seed,

and at evening do not let your hand rest,

because you don’t know which will succeed,

whether one or the other,

or if both of them will be equally good.

NLTNew Living Translation

Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.

If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Whoever watches the wind will not sow;

whoever watches the clouds will not reap.

Just as you do not know how the path of the wind 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.

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.

He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.

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Ecclesiastes 11:4–6

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Footnotes