Ecclesiastes 11
11
Boldly Face the Future
1Do good things everywhere you go.# Literally, “Throw your bread upon the water.”
After a while the good you do will return to help you.
2Invest what you have in several different businesses.
You don’t know what bad things might happen on earth.
3If clouds are full of rain,
they will pour water on the earth.
A tree can fall to the north or south.
But it will stay where it falls.
4If a person waits for perfect weather,
he will never plant his seeds.
And if he is afraid that every cloud will bring rain,
he will never harvest his crops.
5You don’t know where the wind will blow.
And you don’t know how a baby grows in its mother’s body.
In the same way, God certainly made all things.
But you can’t understand what he is doing.
6Begin planting early in the morning,
and don’t stop working until evening.
This is because you don’t know which things you do will succeed.
It is even possible that everything you do will succeed.
Serve God While You Are Young
7It is good to be alive
to enjoy the light of day.
8A person ought to enjoy every day of his life.
This is true no matter how long he lives.
But he should also remember this:
You will be dead much longer than you live.
After you are dead, you accomplish nothing.
9Young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young.
Be happy while you are young.
Do whatever your heart desires.
Do whatever you want to do.
But remember that God will judge you
for everything you do.
10So avoid sorrow and sadness.
Forget about all the bad things that happen to you.
This is because the joys of youth pass quickly away.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Ecclesiastes 11
11
What a Wise Person Does
1Invest your money in foreign trade, and one of these days you will make a profit. 2Put your investments in several places — many places, in fact — because you never know what kind of bad luck you are going to have in this world.
3No matter in which direction a tree falls, it will lie where it fell. When the clouds are full, it rains. 4If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never sow anything and never harvest anything. 5God 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. 6Do your sowing in the morning and in the evening, too. You never know whether it will all grow well or whether one sowing will do better than the other.
7It is good to be able to enjoy the pleasant light of day. 8Be 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.
Advice to Young People
9Young 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.
10Don't let anything worry you or cause you pain. You aren't going to be young very long.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.