EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Ecclesiastes 11:4
4A farmer who waits for the right wind will never plant any seeds. If he is always looking at the clouds, he will never bring in his crops.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
- New International Version (NIV)Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.
Context of Ecclesiastes 11:4
2Share your things with several other people. You do not know when trouble will come. Then those people can help you. 3When clouds are full of water, rain will fall on the earth. If a tree falls to the ground, it will stay there, in the same place. A farmer who waits for the right wind will never plant any seeds. If he is always looking at the clouds, he will never bring in his crops. 5We do not know the path that the wind blows along. Nor do we know how a baby's body grows inside a pregnant woman. So nobody can explain the things that God does. He is the one who has made everything. 6Plant your seeds in the morning, and continue to work until the evening. You do not know which seeds will become strong plants. Perhaps only some of them will grow. Perhaps they will all grow well.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 11Ecclesiastes 11:4 word by word
שֹׁמֵ֥ר ר֖וּחַ לֹ֣א יִזְרָ֑ע וְרֹאֶ֥ה בֶעָבִ֖ים לֹ֥א יִקְצֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 11:4
- Proverbs 3:27Do not refuse to help those people who need help. If you are able to help them, do it!
- Proverbs 20:4A lazy farmer does not plough his fields in winter. As a result, he has nothing to eat when harvest time arrives.
- Proverbs 22:13A lazy person stays in his house. He says, ‘There is a lion outside in the street! If I go out, it will kill me!’
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 11:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He that observeth the wind shall not sow! - The man that is too scrupulous is never likely to succeed in any thing. If a man neither plough nor sow till the weather is entirely to his mind, the season will in all probability pass before he will have done any thing: so, if thou be too nice in endeavoring to find out who are the impostors among those who profess to be in want, the real object may perish, whom otherwise thou mightest have relieved, and whose…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-6Verses 3-6 “Unforeseen events come from God; and the man who is always gazing on the uncertain future will neither begin nor complete any useful work: but do thou bear in mind that times and circumstances, the powers of nature and the results to which they minister, are in the hand of God; and be both diligent and trustful.” The images are connected chiefly with the occupation of an agricultural laborer: the discharge of rain from the cloud, and the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6All profitable activities involve risk. We should act wisely and trust God for the outcome.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Therefore sow thy charity in faith, without hesitancy or speculation as to results, because they may not seem promising (Ec 9:10). So in Ec 11:1, man is told to "cast his bread corn" on the seemingly unpromising "waters" (Psa 126:5, 6). The farmer would get on badly, who, instead of sowing and reaping, spent his time in watching the wind and clouds.Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 11:4
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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