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Ecclesiastes 11
New King James Version

### The Value of Diligence

11 Cast your bread (A)upon the waters,
(B)For you will find it after many days.
2 (C)Give a serving (D)to seven, and also to eight,
(E)For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.

3 If 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.
4 He who observes the wind will not sow,
And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

5 As (F)you do not know what is the way of the [a]wind,
(G)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.
6 In 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.

7 Truly the light is sweet,
And it is pleasant for the eyes (H)to behold the sun;
8 But if a man lives many years
And (I)rejoices in them all,
Yet let him (J)remember the days of darkness,
For they will be many.
All that is coming is vanity.

### Seek God in Early Life

9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,
And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;
(K)Walk in the [b]ways of your heart,
And [c]in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
(L)God will bring you into judgment.
10 Therefore remove [d]sorrow from your heart,
And (M)put away evil from your flesh,
(N)For childhood and [e]youth are vanity.

#### Footnotes

1. Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or spirit
2. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Impulses
3. Ecclesiastes 11:9 As you see to be best
4. Ecclesiastes 11:10 vexation
5. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Prime of life

#### Cross references

1. Ecclesiastes 11:1 : Is. 32:20
2. Ecclesiastes 11:1 : [Deut. 15:10; Prov. 19:17; Matt. 10:42; 2 Cor. 9:8; Gal. 6:9, 10; Heb. 6:10]
3. Ecclesiastes 11:2 : Ps. 112:9; Matt. 5:42; Luke 6:30; [1 Tim. 6:18, 19]
4. Ecclesiastes 11:2 : Mic. 5:5
5. Ecclesiastes 11:2 : Eph. 5:16
6. Ecclesiastes 11:5 : John 3:8
7. Ecclesiastes 11:5 : Ps. 139:14
8. Ecclesiastes 11:7 : Eccl. 7:11
9. Ecclesiastes 11:8 : Eccl. 9:7
10. Ecclesiastes 11:8 : Eccl. 12:1
11. Ecclesiastes 11:9 : Num. 15:39; Job 31:7; Eccl. 2:10
12. Ecclesiastes 11:9 : Eccl. 3:17; 12:14; [Rom. 14:10]
13. Ecclesiastes 11:10 : 2 Cor. 7:1; 2 Tim. 2:22
14. Ecclesiastes 11:10 : Ps. 39:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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