1 Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days.

2 Give a portion to seven and even to eight, for thou dost not know what evil shall come upon the earth.

3 If the clouds are full of rain, they shall empty [themselves] upon the earth; and if the tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall remain.

4 He that observes the wind shall not sow, and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.

5 As thou dost not know what [is] the way of the spirit [nor] how the bones [grow] in the womb of her that is with child, even so thou dost not know the works of God who makes all.

6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, either this or that or whether they both [shall be] equally good.

7 Truly the light [is] sweet, and a pleasant [thing it is] for the eyes to behold the sun,

8 but if a man lives many years [and] rejoices in them all; yet if afterwards he remembers the days of darkness, for they shall be many, [he shall say] that everything that shall have happened to him [is] vanity.

9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment.

10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh; for childhood and youth [are] vanity.: