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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Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,(A)
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

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10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

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10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food(A) will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.(B) 11 You will be enriched(C) in every way so that you can be generous(D) on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.(E)

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10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

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10 As the rain(A) and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,(B)
    so that it yields seed(C) for the sower and bread for the eater,(D)

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Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.

Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

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You have planted much, but harvested little.(A) You eat, but never have enough.(B) You drink, but never have your fill.(C) You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,(D) only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought(E) to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber(F) and build my house, so that I may take pleasure(G) in it and be honored,(H)” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.(I) What you brought home, I blew(J) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,(K) while each of you is busy with your own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld(L) their dew(M) and the earth its crops.(N) 11 I called for a drought(O) on the fields and the mountains,(P) on the grain, the new wine,(Q) the olive oil(R) and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.(S)

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12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

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12 Sow(A) righteousness(B) for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;(C)
    for it is time to seek(D) the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness(E) on you.

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But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

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Generosity Encouraged

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.(A)

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11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

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11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,”(A) declares the Lord Almighty.

12 “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit,(B) the ground will produce its crops,(C) and the heavens will drop their dew.(D) I will give all these things as an inheritance(E) to the remnant of this people.(F)

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36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.

37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.

38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.

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36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests(A) a crop for eternal life,(B) so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’(C) is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

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Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

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What, after all, is Apollos?(A) And what is Paul? Only servants,(B) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed,(C) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

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17 I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord.

18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it.

19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

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17 I struck all the work of your hands(A) with blight,(B) mildew and hail,(C) yet you did not return(D) to me,’ declares the Lord.(E) 18 ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought(F) to the day when the foundation(G) of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: 19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate(H) and the olive tree have not borne fruit.(I)

“‘From this day on I will bless(J) you.’”

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26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;

27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

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The Parable of the Growing Seed

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like.(A) A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”(B)

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10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

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10 Whatever(A) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(B) for in the realm of the dead,(C) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(D)

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Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

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Preach(A) the word;(B) be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke(C) and encourage(D)—with great patience and careful instruction.

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