Ecclesiastes 11

Contemporary English Version

It Pays To Work Hard

11 Be generous, and someday
    you will be rewarded.^[a]
²Share what you have
    with seven or eight others,
because you never know
    when disaster may strike.
³Rain clouds always bring rain;
trees always stay
    wherever they fall.
⁴If you worry about the weather
and don't plant seeds,
    you won't harvest a crop.

⁵No one can explain how a baby breathes before it is born.^[b] So how can anyone explain what God does? After all, God created everything.

⁶Plant your seeds early in the morning and keep working in the field until dark. Who knows? Your work might pay off, and your seeds might produce.

Youth and Old Age

⁷Nothing on earth is more beautiful than the morning sun. ⁸Even if you have a very long life, you should try to enjoy each day, because darkness will come and will last a long time. Nothing makes sense.^[c]

⁹Be cheerful and enjoy life while you are young! Do what you want and find pleasure in what you see. But don't forget that God will judge you for everything you do.

¹⁰Rid yourself of all worry and pain, because the wonderful moments of youth quickly disappear.

Footnotes

11.1 Be generous … rewarded: Or “Don't be afraid to invest. Someday it will pay off.”
11.5 how … born: Or “what makes the wind blow or how a baby grows inside its mother.”
11.8 Nothing makes sense: Or “There's nothing to look forward to!”