| New International Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. | 1Send your bread on the surface of the waters, for after many days you may find it. |
| 2Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. | 2Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you don't know what disaster may happen on earth. |
| 3If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. | 3If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or the north, the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. |
| 4Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. | 4One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap. |
| 5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. | 5Just as you don't know the path of the wind, or how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you don't know the work of God who makes everything. |
| 6Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. | 6In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don't know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good. |
| 7Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. | 7Light is sweet, and it is pleasing for the eyes to see the sun. |
| 8However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. | 8Indeed, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, since they will be many. All that comes is futile. |
| 9You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. | 9Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment. |
| 10So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. | 10Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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