1 Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days.
2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.
3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.
4 He who observes the wind won’t sow; and he who regards the clouds won’t reap.
5 As you don’t know what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child; even so you don’t know the work of God who does all.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.
7 Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun.
8 Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.
9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
7 passages from writers of 2 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
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Oldest first.
Gregory Thaumaturgusc. 213–270Early church, EastA Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes · on Ecclesiastes 11:1–2Moreover, it is a righteous thing to give (to the needy) of thy bread, and of those things which are necessary for the support of man's life. For though thou seemest forthwith to waste it upon some persons, as if thou didst cast thy bread upon the water, yet in the progress of time thy kindness shall be seen to be not unprofitable for thee. Also give liberally, and give a portion of thy means to many; for thou knowest not what the coming day doeth.
Moreover, it is a righteous thing to give (to the needy) of thy bread, and of those things which are necessary for the support of man's life. For though thou seemest forthwith to waste it upon some persons, as if thou didst cast thy bread upon the water, yet in the progress of time thy kindness shall be seen to be not unprofitable for thee. Also give liberally, and give a portion of thy means to many; for thou knowest not what the coming day doeth.
Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Metaphrase, chapter 11; translated by S. D. F. Salmond in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6 (New York, 1886); the text of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The edition
Gregory “the Wonder-worker”, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus and a pupil of Origen. His Metaphrase retells Ecclesiastes in plain prose, as a teacher would read it to a beginner.
Gregory Thaumaturgusc. 213–270Early church, EastA Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes · on Ecclesiastes 11:7–10Truly, when a man considers with himself that the sun is good, and that this life is sweet, and that it is a pleasant thing to have many years wherein one can delight himself continually, and that death is a terror and an endless evil, and a thing that brings us to nought, he thinks that he ought to enjoy himself in all the present and apparent pleasures of life. And he gives this counsel also to the young, that they should use to the uttermost the season of their youth, by giving up their minds to all manner of pleasure, and indulge their passions, and do all that seemeth good in their own eyes, and look upon that which delighteth, and avert themselves from that which is not so. But to such a man I shall say this much: Senseless art thou, my friend, in that thou dost not look for the judgment that shall come from God upon all these things. … For folly attends on youth, and folly leads to destruction.
Truly, when a man considers with himself that the sun is good, and that this life is sweet, and that it is a pleasant thing to have many years wherein one can delight himself continually, and that death is a terror and an endless evil, and a thing that brings us to nought, he thinks that he ought to enjoy himself in all the present and apparent pleasures of life. And he gives this counsel also to the young, that they should use to the uttermost the season of their youth, by giving up their minds to all manner of pleasure, and indulge their passions, and do all that seemeth good in their own eyes, and look upon that which delighteth, and avert themselves from that which is not so. But to such a man I shall say this much: Senseless art thou, my friend, in that thou dost not look for the judgment that shall come from God upon all these things. … For folly attends on youth, and folly leads to destruction.
Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Metaphrase, chapter 11; translated by S. D. F. Salmond in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6 (New York, 1886); the text of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The edition
Gregory “the Wonder-worker”, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus and a pupil of Origen. His Metaphrase retells Ecclesiastes in plain prose, as a teacher would read it to a beginner.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Ecclesiastes 11:1Cast thy bread upon the waters, thy bread-corn upon the low places (so some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who goes forth, bearing precious seed, sparing bread-corn from his family for the seedness, knowing that without that he can have no harvest another year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the poor … "Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, Job 31:17. Give freely to the poor, as that which is cast upon the waters. Send it a voyage, send it as a venture, as merchants that trade by sea. Trust it upon the waters; it shall not sink." … "Thou shalt find it, perhaps not quickly, but after many days; the return may be slow, but it is sure and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat, the most valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make the best returns.
Cast thy bread upon the waters, thy bread-corn upon the low places (so some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who goes forth, bearing precious seed, sparing bread-corn from his family for the seedness, knowing that without that he can have no harvest another year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the poor … "Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, Job 31:17. Give freely to the poor, as that which is cast upon the waters. Send it a voyage, send it as a venture, as merchants that trade by sea. Trust it upon the waters; it shall not sink." … "Thou shalt find it, perhaps not quickly, but after many days; the return may be slow, but it is sure and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat, the most valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make the best returns.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 11:1–6; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Ecclesiastes 11:9Some make this to be the counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions against which Solomon, in the close of the verse, prescribes a powerful antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it, as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to the priests of Baal (Cry aloud, for he is a god), or of Micaiah to Ahab (Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper), or of Christ to his disciples, Sleep on now. … Solomon speaks thus ironically to the young man to intimate, … (3.) To expose his folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of life. … 2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: "Know thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou canst, if thou darest."
Some make this to be the counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions against which Solomon, in the close of the verse, prescribes a powerful antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it, as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to the priests of Baal (Cry aloud, for he is a god), or of Micaiah to Ahab (Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper), or of Christ to his disciples, Sleep on now. … Solomon speaks thus ironically to the young man to intimate, … (3.) To expose his folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of life. … 2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: "Know thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou canst, if thou darest."
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 11:9–10; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
John Wesley1703–1791MethodistExplanatory Notes upon the Old Testament · on Ecclesiastes 11:4He who neglects the necessary works of sowing and reaping, because the weather is not exactly suitable to his desires will lose his harvest. Whereby he intimates, that men will never do good here, which is expressed by sowing, and consequently not receive good hereafter, which is called reaping, if they be discouraged from it by every doubt and difficulty.
He who neglects the necessary works of sowing and reaping, because the weather is not exactly suitable to his desires will lose his harvest. Whereby he intimates, that men will never do good here, which is expressed by sowing, and consequently not receive good hereafter, which is called reaping, if they be discouraged from it by every doubt and difficulty.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, on 11:4; Bristol, 1765. The edition
The Anglican priest who began the Methodist movement; his notes on the Bible were written for ordinary readers.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Ecclesiastes 11:1–2Most interpreters, chiefly the Talm., Midrash, and Targ., … regard this as an exhortation to charity, which although practised without expectation of reward, does not yet remain unrewarded at last. … This indefinite designation of time, which yet definitely points to the remote future, does not thus indicate that the subject is the recompense of noble self-renunciation which is sooner or later rewarded, and often immediately, but exactly accords with the idea of commerce carried on with foreign countries, which expects to attain its object only after a long period of waiting. In the proper sense, they send their bread over the surface of the water who, … "do business in great waters." It is a figure taken from the corn trade of a seaport, an illustration of the thought: seek thy support in the way of bold, confident adventure. … Only the reference to self-sacrificing beneficence stands on a level with it as worthy of consideration. … in short, that one ought not to put all into one business, or, as we say literally, venture all on one card.
Most interpreters, chiefly the Talm., Midrash, and Targ., … regard this as an exhortation to charity, which although practised without expectation of reward, does not yet remain unrewarded at last. … This indefinite designation of time, which yet definitely points to the remote future, does not thus indicate that the subject is the recompense of noble self-renunciation which is sooner or later rewarded, and often immediately, but exactly accords with the idea of commerce carried on with foreign countries, which expects to attain its object only after a long period of waiting. In the proper sense, they send their bread over the surface of the water who, … "do business in great waters." It is a figure taken from the corn trade of a seaport, an illustration of the thought: seek thy support in the way of bold, confident adventure. … Only the reference to self-sacrificing beneficence stands on a level with it as worthy of consideration. … in short, that one ought not to put all into one business, or, as we say literally, venture all on one card.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 11:1–2; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Ecclesiastes 11:7–9It is in the spirit of the whole book that, along with the call to earnest activity, there should be the call to the pleasant enjoyment of life: he who faithfully labours has a right to enjoy his life; and this joy of life, based on fidelity to one's calling, and consecrated by the fear of God, is the most real and the highest enjoyment here below. … the Targ. also therefore has: "be prudent with reference to the sight of thine eyes." But this moralizing of the text is superfluous, since the call to the youthful enjoyment of life is accompanied with the nota bene: but know that God will bring thee to an account for all this; and thus it excludes sinful sensual desire. … the author, here and at Ecc 3:17; Ecc 12:14, postulates a final judgment, which removes the contradiction of this present time, and which must thus be in the future; he has no clear idea of the time and manner of this final judgment, but his faith in God places the certainty of it beyond all doubt.
It is in the spirit of the whole book that, along with the call to earnest activity, there should be the call to the pleasant enjoyment of life: he who faithfully labours has a right to enjoy his life; and this joy of life, based on fidelity to one's calling, and consecrated by the fear of God, is the most real and the highest enjoyment here below. … the Targ. also therefore has: "be prudent with reference to the sight of thine eyes." But this moralizing of the text is superfluous, since the call to the youthful enjoyment of life is accompanied with the nota bene: but know that God will bring thee to an account for all this; and thus it excludes sinful sensual desire. … the author, here and at Ecc 3:17; Ecc 12:14, postulates a final judgment, which removes the contradiction of this present time, and which must thus be in the future; he has no clear idea of the time and manner of this final judgment, but his faith in God places the certainty of it beyond all doubt.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 11:6–9; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Ecclesiastes 11
Ecclesiastes 11:1–10, World English Bible
Ecclesiastes 11 in the Bible · Told in the Story: Chapter 20, The Preacher
What others have written
7 passages from writers of 2 traditions, in their own words, each with their dates and tradition. The site doesn’t say who is right: read them beside the verses. About these
Oldest first.
Gregory Thaumaturgusc. 213–270Early church, EastA Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes · on Ecclesiastes 11:1–2Moreover, it is a righteous thing to give (to the needy) of thy bread, and of those things which are necessary for the support of man's life. For though thou seemest forthwith to waste it upon some persons, as if thou didst cast thy bread upon the water, yet in the progress of time thy kindness shall be seen to be not unprofitable for thee. Also give liberally, and give a portion of thy means to many; for thou knowest not what the coming day doeth.
Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Metaphrase, chapter 11; translated by S. D. F. Salmond in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6 (New York, 1886); the text of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The edition
Gregory “the Wonder-worker”, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus and a pupil of Origen. His Metaphrase retells Ecclesiastes in plain prose, as a teacher would read it to a beginner.
Gregory Thaumaturgusc. 213–270Early church, EastA Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes · on Ecclesiastes 11:7–10Truly, when a man considers with himself that the sun is good, and that this life is sweet, and that it is a pleasant thing to have many years wherein one can delight himself continually, and that death is a terror and an endless evil, and a thing that brings us to nought, he thinks that he ought to enjoy himself in all the present and apparent pleasures of life. And he gives this counsel also to the young, that they should use to the uttermost the season of their youth, by giving up their minds to all manner of pleasure, and indulge their passions, and do all that seemeth good in their own eyes, and look upon that which delighteth, and avert themselves from that which is not so. But to such a man I shall say this much: Senseless art thou, my friend, in that thou dost not look for the judgment that shall come from God upon all these things. … For folly attends on youth, and folly leads to destruction.
Gregory Thaumaturgus, A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Metaphrase, chapter 11; translated by S. D. F. Salmond in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6 (New York, 1886); the text of the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The edition
Gregory “the Wonder-worker”, bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus and a pupil of Origen. His Metaphrase retells Ecclesiastes in plain prose, as a teacher would read it to a beginner.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Ecclesiastes 11:1Cast thy bread upon the waters, thy bread-corn upon the low places (so some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who goes forth, bearing precious seed, sparing bread-corn from his family for the seedness, knowing that without that he can have no harvest another year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the poor … "Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, Job 31:17. Give freely to the poor, as that which is cast upon the waters. Send it a voyage, send it as a venture, as merchants that trade by sea. Trust it upon the waters; it shall not sink." … "Thou shalt find it, perhaps not quickly, but after many days; the return may be slow, but it is sure and will be so much the more plentiful." Wheat, the most valuable grain, lies longest in the ground. Long voyages make the best returns.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 11:1–6; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
Matthew Henry1662–1714English PresbyterianCommentary on the Whole Bible · on Ecclesiastes 11:9Some make this to be the counsel which the atheist and the epicure give to the young man, the poisonous suggestions against which Solomon, in the close of the verse, prescribes a powerful antidote. But it is more emphatic if we take it, as it is commonly understood, by way of irony, like that of Elijah to the priests of Baal (Cry aloud, for he is a god), or of Micaiah to Ahab (Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper), or of Christ to his disciples, Sleep on now. … Solomon speaks thus ironically to the young man to intimate, … (3.) To expose his folly, and the great absurdity of a voluptuous vicious course of life. … 2. A powerful check given to these vanities and pleasures: "Know thou that for all these things God shall bring thee into judgment, and duly consider that, and then live such a luxurious life if thou canst, if thou darest."
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 11:9–10; 1706–1714; the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
An English Presbyterian minister whose commentary on the whole Bible Protestants have read for three centuries.
John Wesley1703–1791MethodistExplanatory Notes upon the Old Testament · on Ecclesiastes 11:4He who neglects the necessary works of sowing and reaping, because the weather is not exactly suitable to his desires will lose his harvest. Whereby he intimates, that men will never do good here, which is expressed by sowing, and consequently not receive good hereafter, which is called reaping, if they be discouraged from it by every doubt and difficulty.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, on 11:4; Bristol, 1765. The edition
The Anglican priest who began the Methodist movement; his notes on the Bible were written for ordinary readers.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Ecclesiastes 11:1–2Most interpreters, chiefly the Talm., Midrash, and Targ., … regard this as an exhortation to charity, which although practised without expectation of reward, does not yet remain unrewarded at last. … This indefinite designation of time, which yet definitely points to the remote future, does not thus indicate that the subject is the recompense of noble self-renunciation which is sooner or later rewarded, and often immediately, but exactly accords with the idea of commerce carried on with foreign countries, which expects to attain its object only after a long period of waiting. In the proper sense, they send their bread over the surface of the water who, … "do business in great waters." It is a figure taken from the corn trade of a seaport, an illustration of the thought: seek thy support in the way of bold, confident adventure. … Only the reference to self-sacrificing beneficence stands on a level with it as worthy of consideration. … in short, that one ought not to put all into one business, or, as we say literally, venture all on one card.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 11:1–2; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.
Keil and Delitzsch1807–1888 and 1813–1890LutheranBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament · on Ecclesiastes 11:7–9It is in the spirit of the whole book that, along with the call to earnest activity, there should be the call to the pleasant enjoyment of life: he who faithfully labours has a right to enjoy his life; and this joy of life, based on fidelity to one's calling, and consecrated by the fear of God, is the most real and the highest enjoyment here below. … the Targ. also therefore has: "be prudent with reference to the sight of thine eyes." But this moralizing of the text is superfluous, since the call to the youthful enjoyment of life is accompanied with the nota bene: but know that God will bring thee to an account for all this; and thus it excludes sinful sensual desire. … the author, here and at Ecc 3:17; Ecc 12:14, postulates a final judgment, which removes the contradiction of this present time, and which must thus be in the future; he has no clear idea of the time and manner of this final judgment, but his faith in God places the certainty of it beyond all doubt.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, on 11:6–9; translated by James Martin and others (Edinburgh, 1866–1891); the text of the Free Use Bible API. The edition
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, two German Lutheran scholars of Hebrew whose commentary on the Old Testament is still read for its learning.