Cast Your Bread on the Waters

1Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it [a]after many days. 2Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. 3If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it [b]lies. 4One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest. 5Just as you do not know the path of the [c]wind, and how bones are formed in the womb of the [d]pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes everything.

6Sow your seed in the morning and do not [e]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether [f]one or the other will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

7The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 8Indeed, if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

9Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the [g]impulses of your heart and the [h]desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10So remove [i]sorrow from your heart and keep [j]pain away from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are [k]fleeting.