1
Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.
2
But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.
3
When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
4
Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.
5
Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.
6
Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.
7
Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.
[a].
Or Give generously, / for your gifts will return to you later. Hebrew reads Throw your bread on the waters, / for after many days you will find it again.