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Ecclesiastes 11
International Children’s Bible
Ecclesiastes 11
International Children’s Bible
Boldly Face the Future
11 Do good things everywhere you go.[a]
After a while the good you do will return to help you.
2 Invest what you have in several different businesses.
You don’t know what bad things might happen on earth.
3 If clouds are full of rain,
they will pour water on the earth.
A tree can fall to the north or south.
But it will stay where it falls.
4 If a person waits for perfect weather,
he will never plant his seeds.
And if he is afraid that every cloud will bring rain,
he will never harvest his crops.
5 You don’t know where the wind will blow.
And you don’t know how a baby grows in its mother’s body.
In the same way, God certainly made all things.
But you can’t understand what he is doing.
6 Begin planting early in the morning,
and don’t stop working until evening.
This is because you don’t know which things you do will succeed.
It is even possible that everything you do will succeed.
Serve God While You Are Young
7 It is good to be alive
to enjoy the light of day.
8 A person ought to enjoy every day of his life.
This is true no matter how long he lives.
But he should also remember this:
You will be dead much longer than you live.
After you are dead, you accomplish nothing.
9 Young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young.
Be happy while you are young.
Do whatever your heart desires.
Do whatever you want to do.
But remember that God will judge you
for everything you do.
10 So avoid sorrow and sadness.
Forget about all the bad things that happen to you.
This is because the joys of youth pass quickly away.
Footnotes
- 11:1 Do good . . . go. Literally, “Throw your bread upon the water.”
Ecclesiastes 11
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 11
New International Version
Invest in Many Ventures
11 Ship(A) your grain across the sea;
after many days you may receive a return.(B)
2 Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight;
you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3 If clouds are full of water,
they pour rain on the earth.
Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
4 Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5 As you do not know the path of the wind,(C)
or how the body is formed[a] in a mother’s womb,(D)
so you cannot understand the work of God,
the Maker of all things.
6 Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let your hands not be idle,(E)
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well.
Remember Your Creator While Young
7 Light is sweet,
and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.(F)
8 However many years anyone may live,
let them enjoy them all.
But let them remember(G) the days of darkness,
for there will be many.
Everything to come is meaningless.
9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.(H)
10 So then, banish anxiety(I) from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.(J)
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 11:5 Or know how life (or the spirit) / enters the body being formed
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.