Cast Your Bread upon the Waters
1
f Cast your bread upon the waters,
g for you will find it after many days.
2
h Give a portion to i seven, or even to eight,
j for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
3
If the clouds are full of rain,
they empty themselves on the earth,
and if a tree falls to the south or to the north,
in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4
He who observes the wind will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
5
As you do not know the way k the spirit comes to l the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
6
In the morning sow your seed, and at evening m withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.
7
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to n see the sun.
8
So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember o that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is p vanity.
9
q Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. r Walk in the ways of your heart and s the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things t God will bring you into judgment.
10
Remove vexation from your heart, and u put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
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Cross References
Isaiah 32:20
Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free.
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Cross References
Deuteronomy 15:10
You shall give to him freely, and your heart sh...
Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lo...
Matthew 10:42
And whoever gives one of these little ones even...
Luke 14:14
And you will be blessed, because they cannot re...
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you...
Galatians 6:9 - 10
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in...
Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your wo...
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Cross References
Psalms 112:9
He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.
Matthew 5:42
Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Luke 6:30
Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.
1 Timothy 6:18 - 19
They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.
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Cross References
Micah 5:5
And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.
Job 5:19
He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you.
Proverbs 6:16
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
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Cross References
Luke 16:9
And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
Ephesians 5:16
Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 1:6
The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
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Cross References
Psalms 139:13 - 16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 7:18
It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 6:5
Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he.
Ecclesiastes 7:11
Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 12:1 - 2
Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them".
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 2:23
For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 2:10
And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil.
Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
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Cross References
Numbers 15:39
And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.
Job 31:7
If my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 6:9
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
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Cross References
Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
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Cross References
2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
2 Timothy 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.