| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. | 1Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. |
| 2Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. | 2Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. |
| 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. | 3If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on 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 not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. | 4Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. |
| 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. | 5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. |
| 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. | 6Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. |
| 7The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. | 7Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. |
| 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. | 8However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. |
| 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. | 9You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. |
| 10So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting. | 10So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. |
| 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 | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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