English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
1
e generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
2
Don't hoard your goods; spread them around. Be a blessing to others. This could be your last night.
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.
3
When the clouds are full of water, it rains. When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
4
Don't sit there watching the wind. Do your own work. Don't stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.
5 As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
5
Just as you'll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, So you'll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does.
6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
6
Go to work in the morning and stick to it until evening without watching the clock. You never know from moment to moment how your work will turn out in the end. Before the Years Take Their Toll
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
7
Oh, how sweet the light of day, And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
8
Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour, Remembering that there will also be many dark days And that most of what comes your way is smoke.
9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
9
You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. Follow the impulses of your heart. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.
10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
10
Live footloose and fancy free - You won't be young forever. Youth lasts about as long as smoke.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.