1 Send forth thy bread upon the face of the water:

For thou shalt find it after many days.

2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight;

For thou knowest not what evil there shall be upon the earth.

3 If the clouds be filled with rain,

They pour it out upon the earth:

And if a tree fall southward, or if it fall northward,

In the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be.

4 He that observes the wind sows not;

And he that looks at the clouds will not reap.

5 Among whom none knows what is the way of the wind:

As the bones are hidden in the womb of a pregnant woman,

So thou shalt not know the works of God,

Even all things whatsoever he shall do.

6 In the morning sow thy seed,

And in the evening let not thy hand be slack:

For thou knowest not what sort shall prosper, whether this or that,

Or whether both shall be good alike.

7 Moreover the light is sweet,

And it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

8 For even if a man should live many years,

And rejoice in them all;

Yet let him remember the days of darkness;

For they shall be many.

All that comes 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 thy heart blameless,

But not in the sight of thine eyes:

Yet know 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 youth and folly are vanity.