| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. | 1Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return. |
| 2Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. | 2Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth. |
| 3If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie. | 3If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls. |
| 4He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. | 4He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap. |
| 5As you do not know what is the way of the wind, Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, So you do not know the works of God who makes everything. | 5Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. |
| 6In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good. | 6Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed--whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally. |
| 7Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun; | 7Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun. |
| 8But if a man lives many years And rejoices in them all, Yet let him remember the days of darkness, For they will be many. All that is coming is vanity. | 8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many--all that is about to come is obscure. |
| 9Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, And in the sight of your eyes; But know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. | 9Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. |
| 10Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity. | 10Banish emotional stress from your mind. and put away pain from your body; for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. |
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