Wisdom of the Long View
11 Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it.
2 Give portions to seven, or even to eight,
for you do not know what disaster may happen upon the earth.
3 If the clouds are full,
they empty out rain upon the earth.
Whether a tree falls to south or north,
the tree lies wherever it falls.
4 Whoever keeps watching the wind will not sow
and whoever gazes at the clouds will not reap.
5 Just as you do not know how the spirit passes into the bones in the womb of a pregnant woman,
so you do not know the work of God who makes all things.
6 In the morning sow your seed,
and in the evening do not let your hand be idle,
for you do not know if this or that will succeed,
or if both will prosper together.
7 Light is sweet,
and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
8 For if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all.
But let him remember the days of darkness—
for there will be many.
Everything to come is obscure.
9 Rejoice, young man, in your childhood,
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 things
God will bring you to judgment.
10 So banish anxiety from your heart
and cast off distress from your body,
for youth and prime of life are fleeting.