Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

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.

By Faith

11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of ^(A)things not seen. ² For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³ By faith we understand that the universe was created by ^(B)the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of ^(C)things that are visible.

⁴ By faith ^(D)Abel offered to God ^(E)a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And ^(F)through his faith, though he died, he ^(G)still speaks. ⁵ By faith ^(H)Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God ^(I)must believe that he exists and ^(J)that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷ By faith ^(K)Noah, being warned by God concerning ^(L)events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of ^(M)the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸ By faith ^(N)Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place ^(O)that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he went to live in ^(P)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^(Q)living in tents ^(R)with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to ^(S)the city that has ^(T)foundations, ^(U)whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith ^(V)Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered ^(W)him faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore from one man, and ^(X)him as good as dead, were born descendants ^(Y)as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³ These all died in faith, ^(Z)not having received the things promised, but ^(AA)having seen them and greeted them from afar, and ^(AB)having acknowledged that they were ^(AC)strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, ^(AD)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed ^(AE)to be called their God, for ^(AF)he has prepared for them a city.