Kohelet 11

1Cast thy lechem upon the waters,

for thou shalt find it after many yamim.

2Give chelek (portions) to shivah, and also to shmonah;

for thou knowest not what ra'ah shall be upon ha'aretz.

3If the clouds be full of geshem,

they empty themselves upon ha'aretz;

and if the etz fall toward the darom (south), or toward the tzafon (north),

in the makom (place) where the etz falleth, there it lieth.

4He that observeth the ruach (wind) shall not sow;

and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

5As thou knowest not what is the derech haruach,1 nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the ma'asei HaElohim who maketh all.

6In the boker sow thy zera, and in the erev do not let thine hand be idle; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike tovim.

7Truly the ohr is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eynayim to behold the shemesh;

8But if haAdam live many shanim, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the yamim of choshech; for they shall be many. All that cometh is hevel.

9Rejoice, O bochur, in thy yaldut (youth); and let thy lev cheer thee in the yamim of thy bechurim (youth), and walk in the ways of thine lev, and in the sight of thine eynayim; but have da'as of this; that for all these things HaElohim will bring thee into mishpat.

10Therefore banish ka'as (sorrow) from thy lev, and put away ra'ah from thy basar; for yaldut and shacharut (prime of life) are hevel.