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.
3 If 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.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As 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.
6 In 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.
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to (I)see the sun.
8 So 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.
10 Remove 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”; 2 before (T)the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in 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, 4 and (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— 5 they 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— 6 before 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, 7 and (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
9 Besides 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. 12 My 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.
13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. (AS)Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.[f] 14 For (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
Romans 11:1-10
English Standard Version
The Remnant of Israel
11 I ask, then, (A)has God rejected his people? By no means! For (B)I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 (C)God has not rejected his people whom he (D)foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 (E)“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? (F)“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is (G)a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 (H)But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? (I)Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest (J)were hardened, 8 as it is written,
(K)“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
(L)eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
(M)“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and bend their backs forever.”
Footnotes
- Romans 11:1 Or one of the offspring of Abraham
Psalm 98
English Standard Version
Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord
A Psalm.
98 Oh sing to the Lord (A)a new song,
for he has done (B)marvelous things!
His (C)right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has (D)made known his salvation;
he has (E)revealed his righteousness in (F)the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered his (H)steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All (I)the ends of the earth have seen
(J)the salvation of our God.
Proverbs 20:29-30
English Standard Version
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
but (A)the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
30 (B)Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
strokes make clean (C)the innermost parts.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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