| English Standard Version | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. | 1Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. |
| 2Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth. | 2Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. |
| 3If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. | 3If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. |
| 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 looks at the clouds will not reap. |
| 5As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. | 5Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. |
| 6In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. | 6Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good. |
| 7Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. | 7The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. |
| 8So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. | 8Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility. |
| 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 the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. | 9Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. |
| 10Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. | 10So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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