Revised Standard Version RSV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
1
Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit.
2 Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what evil may happen on earth.
2
Put your investments in several places - many places even - because you never know what kind of bad luck you are going to have in this world.
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
No matter which direction a tree falls, it will lie where it fell. When the clouds are full, it rains.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
4
If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.
5 As you do not know how 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
God made everything, and you can no more understand what he does than you understand how new life begins in the womb of a pregnant woman.
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
Do your planting in the morning and in the evening, too. You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one planting will do better than the other.
7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun.
7
It is good to be able to enjoy the pleasant light of day.
8 For if a man 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
Be grateful for every year you live. No matter how long you live, remember that you will be dead much longer. There is nothing at all to look forward to.
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
Young people, enjoy your youth. Be happy while you are still young. Do what you want to do, and follow your heart's desire. But remember that God is going to judge you for whatever you do.
10 Remove vexation from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
10
Don't let anything worry you or cause you pain. You aren't going to be young very long.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the 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.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.