Ecclesiastes 11:4

4 He who observes the wind won't sow; And he who regards the clouds won't reap.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 11:4

He that observeth the wind shall not sow
Who before he sows his seed is careful to observe where the wind is, from what corner it blows, and forbears sowing until it is down or changes, lest it should be troublesome unto him in sowing, or blow away his seed, and waits for a better season; such a man may lose his seedtime and never sow at all, and his grain in his barn may be devoured by vermin, or be destroyed by one accident or another, and so he may lose both his seed and his crop; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap;
which are uncertain signs of weather; and if a man gives heed to them, and puts off his sowing from time to time, for the sake of better weather, as he may never sow, so it is impossible that he should reap; and if he sows, and when his grain is ripe and forbears to reap because of the clouds, lest his grain should be wet, may never reap at all: and so it is with respect to liberality; if a man will raise difficulties, and make objections, and attend unto them; if he puts off giving till such an affliction is removed from him and his family, or that is grown up; or such an estate is obtained, or he has got to such an amount of riches, or till more proper and deserving objects present, with twenty things more of the like kind; if he defers giving on such accounts, or through fear of want, which may possess his mind for various reasons, he may never give nor get, yea, never do any good work; for, if nothing is done till all difficulties are removed, no good thing will ever be done.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 In-Context

2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; For you don't know what evil will be on the eretz.
3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the eretz; 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.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.