"Youth and the dawn of life are vanity" (Ecclesiastes 11:10b). Charity yields high returns. 2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. We can only vaguely conceive the future. NLT Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. As in the Lord‘s prayer, all things needful for the body and soul. 11 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Nothing could be any more stupid than the New English Bible rendition: "Send your grain across the seas, and in time you will get a return; divide your merchandise among seven ventures, eight maybe, since you do not know what disasters may occur on earth."[3]. If the clouds are full of rain, Knowing the meaning of life gives us true, living hope.This century’s most famous evangelist Billy Graham said man can live without everything: wealth, power, fame, sex but not hope. God bids me sow: I do not sow, because the wind would blow some of my seed away. 2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. For you will find it after many days. Either this or that, (1-2) Working for a profit that can’t be immediately seen. It describes the difficulties and disappointments of life, and the emptiness of temporal things. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. Ecclesiastes 11:10. Such possibilities must be part of our thinking if … Ecclesiastes 11:5-6 Ecclesiastes 11:5-6 [5] As you know not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so you know not the works of God who makes all. In verses 1-2, Solomon is recommending that the reader spread out her investments over 7 or even 8 different areas. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” There are a couple of difficult words in this verse. After speaking these proverbs the Teacher presents his final conclusions concerning his observations about life under the sun. Yet let him remember the days of darkness: The sun gives light, but the under the sun premise seemed to bring the Preacher (and us) into days of darkness; and if lived under that premise, those dark days will be many and there will be much vanity to come. ii. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be. "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Title. "[16] Even in our own version, the mention of the Eternal Judgment stands (and the command in Ecclesiastes 11:10) as an effective terminator of any alleged license that may be claimed on the basis of what is written here. You can also change some of your preferences. Spurgeon went on in that sermon (Sowing in the Wind, Reaping Under Clouds) to describe other ways that this attitude sins against God and man. 2 Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around. Why, that he may empty himself upon the earth. . "Thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her that is with child" (Ecclesiastes 11:5). By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. God bids me reap: I do not reap, because there is a black cloud there, and before I can house the harvest, some of it may be spoiled. From a dungeon in Rome, Paul wrote Philippians with its quadruple exclamation: "Rejoice ...rejoice ... rejoice ... and again I say, Rejoice." i. 3 If the clouds are full [of rain], they empty themselves on … Simply because benevolence should be practiced without either any desire or expectation of ever getting it back, exactly as would be the case of casting bread into a raging river. See more. They are not vanity because they are undesirable or worthless, or anything like that, they are vanity in the sense that they are fleeting; they soon pass away. There is no way to restrict what is written here as being applicable to the physical body alone; it is a strict morality that is commanded. But if a man lives many years Ecclesiastes 11:4 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Ecclesiastes 11:4, NIV: "Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap." All that is coming is vanity. We don’t know the way of the wind or how the bones grow in the womb of a mother. Biblical Translations of Ecclesiastes 3:11. (1-2) Working for a profit that can’t be immediately seen. This cannot mean that they are vanity in the sense of Solomon's earlier uses of that term in Ecclesiastes. This principle alone directs us toward eternity, because the wickedness or goodness of man in this earthly life is often not answered in this life. Ecclesiastes 9:1-20 (New International Version) 11 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, [be diligently active, make thoughtful decisions], for you will [] find it after many days. : The Preacher counseled generosity and did so in light that the future – though uncertain – must be prepared for. American King James Version ×: “This passage is not a contradiction to the gospel but a call for it. , and you will be rewarded.” If this is the sense, the point is much the same: do something now for a reward that cannot be immediately seen. The Preacher gently pushes us away from an overly analytical approach to life. 139:13-16 the bones in the womb # 11:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts As you do not know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. For they will be many. They empty themselves upon the earth; And we’ve seen the ultimate—that there is One from Above, who is the eternity we are yearning for. The Word of God clearly acknowledges that men, even those seemingly well-deserving, will meet with unforeseen, chance setbacks, including death! but not in the sight of thine eyes. Solomon advises us that the use of faith will always contain an element of risk of loss because we do not know the end from the beginning. Ecclesiastes 11. This third remedy of the perplexities of life is piety, that is, the faithful worship and service of God.