Ecclesiastes 11
11
It pays to work hard
1Be generous, and some day
you will be rewarded.#11.1 Be generous…rewarded: Or “Don't be afraid to invest. Some day it will pay off.”
2Share what you have
with seven or eight others,
because you never know
when disaster may strike.
3Rain clouds always bring rain;
trees always stay
wherever they fall.
4If you worry about the weather
and don't plant seeds,
you won't harvest a crop.
5No one can explain how a baby breathes before it is born.#11.5 how…born: Or “what makes the wind blow or how a baby grows inside its mother”. So how can anyone explain what God does? After all, he created everything.
6Plant your seeds early in the morning and keep working in the field until dark. Who knows? Your work might pay off, and your seeds might produce.
Respect and obey God
Youth and old age
7Nothing on earth is more beautiful than the morning sun. 8Even if you live to a ripe old age, you should try to enjoy each day, because darkness will come and will last a long time. Nothing makes sense.#11.8 Nothing makes sense: Or “There's nothing to look forward to!”
9Be cheerful and enjoy life while you are young! Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see. But don't forget that God will judge you for everything you do.
10Rid yourself of all worry and pain, because the wonderful moments of youth quickly disappear.
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Ecclesiastes 11: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
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.