Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters
1 Cast your bread on the waters,
for you shall find it after many days.
2 Divide your portion among seven, yes, even eight,
for you do not know what tragedy is coming to the earth.
3 If the clouds are full,
they will 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 watches the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the way of the wind,
nor how the bones grow in the womb of a mother,
so you do not know the work of God
who makes everything.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and in the evening do not be idle,
for you do not know which will prosper,
whether this or that,
or whether they both will equally prosper.
Enjoy Your Years
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.
Everything that happens is meaningless.
9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth,
and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
But if you follow your own heart
and indulge in everything your eyes can see,
remember 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 meaningless.