Ecclesiastes 11:1-7

1 Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.

2 Give a portion to seven and even to eight, for thou dost not know what evil shall come upon the earth.

3 If the clouds are full of rain, they shall empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall remain.

4 He that observes the wind shall not sow, and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.

5 As thou dost not know what is the way of the spirit nor how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou dost not know the works of God who makes all.

6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, either this or that or whether they both shall be equally good.

7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun,

Ecclesiastes 11:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 11

This chapter begins with an exhortation to liberality to the poor, enforced by several reasons and arguments, and the objections to it removed; and the whole illustrated by various similes, Ec 11:1-6; and then it is observed, that a life attended with outward prosperity and inward peace, and spent in doing good, is very delightful, and very desirable it is to have it continued; yet it should be remembered this will not be always, that many days of darkness in the grave will come; and after all the whole of a man's life is vanity, as is often inculcated, Ec 11:7,8; and the chapter is closed with an ironic address to young men, designed to show them the folly and danger of sinful courses, to reform them from them, and to put them in mind of a future judgment, Ec 11:9,10.