Ecclesiastes 11-12

English Standard Version

Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

11 ^(A)Cast your bread upon the waters,
    ^(B)for you will find it after many days.
²^(C)Give a portion to ^(D)seven, or even to eight,
    ^(E)for 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 ^(F)the spirit comes to ^(G)the bones in the womb^[a] 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 ^(H)withhold 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 ^(I)see the sun.

⁸So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember ^(J)that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is ^(K)vanity.^[b]

⁹^(L)Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. ^(M)Walk in the ways of your heart and ^(N)the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things ^(O)God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Remove vexation from your heart, and ^(P)put away pain^[c] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Remember Your Creator in Your Youth

12 Remember also your Creator in ^(Q)the days of your youth, before ^(R)the evil days come and the years draw near of which ^(S)you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ²before ^(T)the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, ³in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and ^(U)those who look through the windows are dimmed, ⁴and ^(V)the doors on the street are shut—when ^(W)the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all ^(X)the daughters of song are brought low— ⁵they are afraid also of what is high, and ^(Y)terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,^[d] and desire fails, because man is going to his ^(Z)eternal ^(AA)home, and the ^(AB)mourners go about the streets— ⁶before the silver cord is snapped, or ^(AC)the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is ^(AD)shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, ⁷and ^(AE)the dust returns to the earth as it was, and ^(AF)the spirit returns to God ^(AG)who gave it. ⁸^(AH)Vanity^[e] of vanities, says ^(AI)the Preacher; all is vanity.

Fear God and Keep His Commandments

⁹Besides being wise, ^(AJ)the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging ^(AK)many proverbs with great care. ¹⁰^(AL)The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.

¹¹^(AM)The words of the wise are like goads, and like ^(AN)nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are ^(AO)given by ^(AP)one Shepherd. ¹²My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making ^(AQ)many books there is no end, and ^(AR)much study is a weariness of the flesh.

¹³The end of the matter; all has been heard. ^(AS)Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.^[f] ¹⁴For ^(AT)God will bring every deed into judgment, with^[g] every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 11:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts As you do not know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb
Ecclesiastes 11:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 11:10 Or evil
Ecclesiastes 12:5 Or is a burden
Ecclesiastes 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Or the duty of all mankind
Ecclesiastes 12:14 Or into the judgment on