Ecclesiastes Chapter 11
Solomon urges bold generosity and joyful youth, trusting an unseen future to God.
After the practical proverbs of Ecclesiastes 10, Solomon opens this chapter with his famous call to cast bread upon the waters, urging generosity and diligent sowing despite an uncertain future. Read the full chapter below.
Sende thi breed on watris passynge forth, for aftir many tymes thou schalt fynde it.
Yyue thou partis seuene, and also eiyte; for thou woost not, what yuel schal come on erthe.
If cloudis ben filled, tho schulen schede out reyn on the erthe; if a tre fallith doun to the south, ether to the north, in what euer place it fallith doun, there it schal be.
He that aspieth the wynd, sowith not; and he that biholdith the cloudis, schal neuere repe.
As thou knowist not, which is the weye of the spirit, and bi what resoun boonys ben ioyned togidere in the wombe of a womman with childe, so thou knowist not the werkis of God, which is makere of alle thingis.
Eerli sowe thi seed, and thin hond ceesse not in the euentid; for thou woost not, what schal come forth more, this ethir that; and if euer eithir cometh forth togidere, it schal be the betere.
The liyt is sweet, and delitable to the iyen to se the sunne.
If a man lyueth many yeeris, and is glad in alle these, he owith to haue mynde of derk tyme, and of many daies; and whanne tho schulen come, thingis passid schulen be repreued of vanyte.
Therfor, thou yonge man, be glad in thi yongthe, and thin herte be in good in the daies of thi yongthe, and go thou in the weies of thin herte, and in the biholdyng of thin iyen; and wite thou, that for alle these thingis God shal brynge thee in to doom.
Do thou awei ire fro thin herte, and remoue thou malice fro thi fleisch; for whi yongthe and lust ben veyne thingis.