ECCLESIASTES 11 [†]  f Cast your bread upon the waters,

 g for you will find it after many days.

2[†]  h Give a portion to  i seven, or even to eight,

 j for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

3 If the clouds are full of rain,

they empty themselves on the earth,

and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

4[†] He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

5[†]As you do not know the way  k the spirit comes to  l the bones in the womb [1] of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.

6In the morning sow your seed, and at evening  m 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  n see the sun.

8So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember  o that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is  p vanity. [2]

9[†] q Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.  r Walk in the ways of your heart and  s the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things  t God will bring you into judgment.

10[†]Remove vexation from your heart, and  u put away pain [3] from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.