| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days. | 1Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. |
| 2Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. | 2But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. |
| 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. | 3When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. |
| 4He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. | 4Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. |
| 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 cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. |
| 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. | 6Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. Advice for Young and Old |
| 7Truly the light is sweet, And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun; | 7Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning. |
| 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. | 8When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless. |
| 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. | 9Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. |
| 10Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, And put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity. | 10So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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