Ecclesiastes 11

1 Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days.

2 Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.

3 If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.

4 He who observes the wind won’t sow; and he who regards the clouds won’t reap.

5 As you don’t know what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child; even so you don’t know the work of God who does all.

6 In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening don’t withhold your hand; for you don’t know which will prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both will be equally good.

7 Truly the light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes to see the sun.

8 Yes, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.

9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and 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 into judgment.

10 Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Around Ecclesiastes 11

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

About Ecclesiastes as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

A king sits in Jerusalem and counts what everything is worth. He watches the sun rise and go down, the wind turn, the rivers run into a sea that is never full, and one generation go while another comes. Then he gives his verdict: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

He is the Teacher, and his book records his reflections. He examines work, pleasure, wealth and wisdom and finds that none of them lasts or satisfies. He calls it “a chasing after wind”. His repeated word is often translated vanity; it pictures a breath or a vapor.

Alongside that hard look, the book keeps returning to simple gifts: food, work and companionship received from God's hand. It closes with a call to fear God and keep his commandments.

Background

The Teacher is introduced as a son of David and king in Jerusalem, and tradition identifies him with Solomon. Many scholars think the Hebrew of the book points to a later date. A narrator frames the Teacher's words at the beginning and the end.

How Christians read it

Readers differ on the Teacher's tone. Some hear a skeptic whose view the closing verses correct. Others hear a realist who shows honestly what life looks like when it is measured only by what can be seen. Christians often read the book as clearing the ground: it exposes what cannot bear the weight of a life, and so points beyond itself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes