The Value of Diligence

Cast your bread upon the waters,
For you will find it after many days.
² Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,
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 you do not know what is the way of the wind,^[a]
Orhow 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 to behold the sun;
⁸ But if a man lives many years
And rejoices in them all,
Yet let him 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;
Walk in the ways of your heart,
And in the sight of your eyes;
But know that for all these
God will bring you into judgment.
¹⁰ Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,
And put away evil from your flesh,
For childhood and youth are vanity.