Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 11:1
1Send your bread on the surface of the water, for after many days you may find it.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
- New International Version (NIV)Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Cast your bread upon the waters, For you will find it after many days.
Context of Ecclesiastes 11:1
Send your bread on the surface of the water, for after many days you may find it. 2Give a portion to seven or even to eight, for you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth. 3If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or the north, the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 11Ecclesiastes 11:1 word by word
שַׁלַּ֥ח לַחְמְךָ֖ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַמָּ֑יִם כִּֽי־בְרֹ֥ב הַיָּמִ֖ים תִּמְצָאֶֽנּוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 11:1
- Isaiah 32:20You will be happy as you sow seed beside abundant water, and as you let oxen and donkeys range freely.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don’t know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good.
- Deuteronomy 15:10Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do.
- Psalms 41:1Happy is one who is considerate of the poor; the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.
- Psalms 126:5Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
- Proverbs 11:18The wicked person earns an empty wage, but the one who sows righteousness, a true reward.
- Proverbs 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.
- Matthew 10:13and if the household is worthy, let your peace be on it; but if it is unworthy, let your peace return to you.
- Matthew 25:40“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
- Luke 14:14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:6The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.
- Galatians 6:8because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
- Hebrews 6:10For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints — and by continuing to serve them.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 11:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Cast thy bread upon the waters - An allusion to the sowing of rice; which was sown upon muddy ground, or ground covered with water, and trodden in by the feet of cattle: it thus took root, and grew, and was found after many days in a plentiful harvest. Give alms to the poor, and it will be as seed sown in good ground. God will cause thee afterwards to receive it with abundant increase. The Targum understands it of giving bread to poor sailors. The Vulgate…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The verse means: “Show hospitality, even though the corresponding return of hospitality to you may seem improbable; nevertheless, be hospitable in faith.” Compare Luke 14:13-14; Hebrews 13:2. Some interpreters (not unreasonably) understand by “bread” the seed from the produce of which bread is made. Seed cast upon the fertile soil flooded by the early rains would be returned to the sower in autumn with large increase.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Exhortation to liberality. (Eccl. 11:1-6) An admonition to prepare for death, and to young persons to be religious. (Eccl. 11:7-10) Verses 1-6 Solomon presses the rich to do good to others. Give freely, though it may seem thrown away and lost. Give to many. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done, from the good thou hast further to do. It is not lost, but well laid out. We have reason to expect evil, for we are born to trouble; it is wisdom to do…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-2We should invest our resources instead of hoarding them, even if we cannot control the outcomes.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-10Ec 11:1-10. 1. Ec 11:2 shows that charity is here inculcated. bread--bread corn. As in the Lord's prayer, all things needful for the body and soul. Solomon reverts to the sentiment (Ec 9:10). waters--image from the custom of sowing seed by casting it from boats into the overflowing waters of the Nile, or in any marshy ground. When the waters receded, the grain in the alluvial soil sprang up (Is 32:20). "Waters" express multitudes, so Ec 11:2; Re 17:15…Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 11:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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