Ecclesiastes 11-12

New International Version

Invest in Many Ventures

11 Ship^(A) your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.^(B)
²Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

³If clouds are full of water,
    they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
    in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
⁴Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵As you do not know the path of the wind,^(C)
or how the body is formed^[a] in a mother’s womb,^(D)
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.

⁶Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,^(E)
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

Remember Your Creator While Young

⁷Light is sweet,
    and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.^(F)
⁸However many years anyone may live,
    let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember^(G) the days of darkness,
    for there will be many.
    Everything to come is meaningless.

⁹You who are young, be happy while you are young,
    and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
    and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
    God will bring you into judgment.^(H)
¹⁰So then, banish anxiety^(I) from your heart
    and cast off the troubles of your body,
    for youth and vigor are meaningless.^(J)

12 Remember^(K) your Creator
    in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble^(L) come
    and the years approach when you will say,
    “I find no pleasure in them”—
²before the sun and the light
    and the moon and the stars grow dark,
    and the clouds return after the rain;
³when the keepers of the house tremble,
    and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
    and those looking through the windows grow dim;
⁴when the doors to the street are closed
    and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
    but all their songs grow faint;^(M)
⁵when people are afraid of heights
    and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
    and the grasshopper drags itself along
    and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home^(N)
    and mourners^(O) go about the streets.

⁶Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
    and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
    and the wheel broken at the well,
⁷and the dust returns^(P) to the ground it came from,
    and the spirit returns to God^(Q) who gave it.^(R)

⁸“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.^[b]^(S)
“Everything is meaningless!^(T)”

The Conclusion of the Matter

⁹Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.^(U) ¹⁰The Teacher^(V) searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.^(W)

¹¹The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails^(X)—given by one shepherd.^[c] ¹²Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.^(Y)

¹³Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God^(Z) and keep his commandments,^(AA)
    for this is the duty of all mankind.^(AB)
¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment,^(AC)
    including every hidden thing,^(AD)
    whether it is good or evil.

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed
Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10
Ecclesiastes 12:11 Or Shepherd

Hebrews 11:1-16

New International Version

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for^(A) and assurance about what we do not see.^(B) ²This is what the ancients were commended for.^(C)

³By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,^(D) so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended^(E) as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.^(F) And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.^(G)

⁵By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a]^(H) For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him^(I) must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,^(J) in holy fear built an ark^(K) to save his family.^(L) By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.^(M)

⁸By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,^(N) obeyed and went,^(O) even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹By faith he made his home in the promised land^(P) like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents,^(Q) as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.^(R) ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city^(S) with foundations,^(T) whose architect and builder is God.^(U) ¹¹And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,^(V) was enabled to bear children^(W) because she^[b] considered him faithful^(X) who had made the promise. ¹²And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,^(Y) came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.^(Z)

¹³All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;^(AA) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,^(AB) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.^(AC) ¹⁴People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.^(AD) ¹⁶Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.^(AE) Therefore God is not ashamed^(AF) to be called their God,^(AG) for he has prepared a city^(AH) for them.

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Footnotes

Hebrews 11:5 Gen. 5:24
Hebrews 11:11 Or By faith Abraham, even though he was too old to have children—and Sarah herself was not able to conceive—was enabled to become a father because he