God’s Word Translation
Ecclesiastes 11:4
4Whoever watches the wind will never plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will never harvest.
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
2Divide what you have into seven parts, or even into eight, because you don’t know what disaster may happen on earth. 3If the clouds are full of rain, they will let it pour down on the earth. If a tree falls north or south, the tree will remain where it fell. Whoever watches the wind will never plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will never harvest. 5Just as you don’t know how the breath of life enters the limbs of a child within its mother’s womb, you also don’t understand how God, who made everything, works. 6Plant your seed in the morning, and don’t let your hands rest until evening. You don’t know whether this field or that field will be profitable or whether both of them will ⌞turn out⌟ equally 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 hold back anything good from those who are entitled to it when you have the power to do so.
- Proverbs 20:4A lazy person does not plow in the fall. He looks for something in the harvest but finds nothing.
- Proverbs 22:13A lazy person says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be murdered in the streets!”
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries