Chapter 11
The Splendid Adventure of Life
1 Cast your bread upon the waters,
and eventually you will get it back.
2 Share with seven or with eight,
for you never can predict what disasters will come.
3 When clouds are full of rain,
they will pour it out upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
wherever it falls, there will it lie.
4 One who continues to watch the wind will never sow,
and one who keeps staring at the clouds will never reap.
5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind
or how the body is formed in a woman’s womb,
so you do not know the work of God,
the Creator of all.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and do not cease your labor until evening.
For you do not know which of the sowings will succeed
or whether all alike will turn out well.
Poem on Youth and Old Age
In the Evening of Life
God and Light
7 Light is sweet,
and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8 No matter how many years you may live,
you should enjoy all of them,
for remember that the days of darkness will be many.
Everything that is to come is vanity.
Rejoice in Your Youth
9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and make the most of the days of your youth.
Follow the inclinations of your heart
and the desires of your eyes.
Yet remember that for all these things
God will demand an account.
10 Banish grief from your heart
and ignore the sufferings of your body,
for youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 11:1
- Ecclesiastes 11:1
- Ecclesiastes 11:2
- Ecclesiastes 11:6
- Ecclesiastes 11:7
- Ecclesiastes 11:9
