New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.
1
e generous: Invest in acts of charity. Charity yields high returns.
2 Divide your means seven ways, or even eight, for you do not know 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 When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether 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 Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever 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 Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, 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 do not let your hands be idle; 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 Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all; yet let them 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, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the inclination of your heart and the desire 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 Banish anxiety from your mind, 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.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.