Ecclesiastes 11

Cast your bread on the waters

Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.a 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.b

⁴Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.c ⁵As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.d ⁶Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.e

Rejoice in your youth

⁷Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. ⁸However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember 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.f

¹⁰So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.g