Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. New Living Translation Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. English Standard Version He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. Berean Standard Bible He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap. King James Bible He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. New King James Version He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap. New American Standard Bible One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest. NASB 1995 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. NASB 1977 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Legacy Standard Bible He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Amplified Bible He who watches the wind [waiting for all conditions to be perfect] will not sow [seed], and he who looks at the clouds will not reap [a harvest]. Christian Standard Bible One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap. Holman Christian Standard Bible One who watches the wind will not sow, and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap. American Standard Version He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. Aramaic Bible in Plain English He who watches the wind does not sow, and he who observes the clouds does not reap Brenton Septuagint Translation He that observes the wind sows not; and he that looks at the clouds will not reap. Contemporary English Version If you worry about the weather and don't plant seeds, you won't harvest a crop. Douay-Rheims Bible He that observeth the wind, shall not sow: and he that considereth the clouds, shall never reap. English Revised Version He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. GOD'S WORD® Translation Whoever watches the wind will never plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will never harvest. Good News Translation If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything. International Standard Version Whoever keeps staring at the wind won't sow; whoever daydreams won't reap. JPS Tanakh 1917 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; And he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. Literal Standard Version Whoever is observing the wind does not sow, | And whoever is looking on the thick clouds does not reap. Majority Standard Bible He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap. New American Bible One who pays heed to the wind will never sow, and one who watches the clouds will never reap. NET Bible He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap. New Revised Standard Version Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap. New Heart English Bible He who observes the wind won't sow; and he who regards the clouds won't reap. Webster's Bible Translation He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. World English Bible He who observes the wind won’t sow; and he who regards the clouds won’t reap. Young's Literal Translation Whoso is observing the wind soweth not, And whoso is looking on the thick clouds reapeth not. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Cast Your Bread upon the Waters…3If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. 4He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap. 5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.… Cross References Ecclesiastes 11:3 If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Treasury of Scripture He that observes the wind shall not sow; and he that regards the clouds shall not reap. Proverbs 3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. Proverbs 22:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. Jump to Previous Clouds Grain Looks Observes Observeth Observing Plant Planted Reap Reapeth Regardeth Regards Seed Sow Soweth Thick Watches Watching Wind Won'tJump to Next Clouds Grain Looks Observes Observeth Observing Plant Planted Reap Reapeth Regardeth Regards Seed Sow Soweth Thick Watches Watching Wind Won'tEcclesiastes 11 1. directions for charity7. death in life and the day of judgment 9. in the days of youth (4) But it is idle to try to guard against all possibilities of failure. To demand a certainty of success before acting would mean not to act at all.Verse 4. - He that observeth the wind shall not sow. The fact of the uncertainty and immutability of the future ought not to make us supine or to crush out all diligence and activity. He who wants to anticipate results, to foresee and provide against all contingencies, to be his own providence, is like a farmer who is always looking to wind and weather, and misses the time for sowing in this needless caution. The quarter from which the wind blows regulates the downfall of rain (comp. Proverbs 25:23). In Palestine the west and north-west winds usually brought rain. He that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. For the purpose of softening the ground to receive the seed, rain was advantageous; but storms in harvest, of course, were pernicious (see 1 Samuel 12:17, etc.; Proverbs 26:1); and he who was anxiously fearing every indication of such weather, and altering his plans at every phase of the sky, might easily put off reaping his fields till either the crops were spoiled or the rainy season had set in. A familiar proverb says," A watched pot never boils." Some risks must always be run if we are to do our work in the world; we cannot make a certainty of anything; probability in the guide of life. We cannot secure ourselves from failure; we can but do our best, and uncertainty of result must not paralyze exertion. "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy" (Romans 9:16). St. Gregory deduces a lesson from this verse: "He calls the unclean spirit wind, but men who are subjected to him clouds; whom he impels backwards and forwards, hither and thither, as often as his temptations alternate in their hearts from the blasts of suggestions. He therefore who observes the wind does not sow, since he who dreads coming temptations does not direct his heart to doing good. And he who regards the clouds does not reap, since he who trembles from the dread of human fickleness deprives himself of the recompense of an eternal reward" ('Moral.,' 27:14). Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew He who watchesשֹׁמֵ֥ר (šō·mêr) Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular construct Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to the wind ר֖וּחַ (rū·aḥ) Noun - common singular Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit will fail לֹ֣א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no to sow, יִזְרָ֑ע (yiz·rā‘) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 2232: To sow, to disseminate, plant, fructify and he who observes וְרֹאֶ֥ה (wə·rō·’eh) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Strong's 7200: To see the clouds בֶעָבִ֖ים (ḇe·‘ā·ḇîm) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - common plural Strong's 5645: An envelope, darkness, a, cloud, a copse will fail לֹ֥א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no to reap. יִקְצֽוֹר׃ (yiq·ṣō·wr) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7114: To dock off, curtail, to harvest Links Ecclesiastes 11:4 NIVEcclesiastes 11:4 NLT Ecclesiastes 11:4 ESV Ecclesiastes 11:4 NASB Ecclesiastes 11:4 KJV Ecclesiastes 11:4 BibleApps.com Ecclesiastes 11:4 Biblia Paralela Ecclesiastes 11:4 Chinese Bible Ecclesiastes 11:4 French Bible Ecclesiastes 11:4 Catholic Bible OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who observes the wind won't sow (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.) |
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