New International Version
Ecclesiastes 11:1
1Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.
Context of Ecclesiastes 11:1
Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. 2Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. 3If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it 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 32:20how blessed you will be, sowing your seed by every stream, and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.
- Deuteronomy 15:10Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
- Psalms 41:1Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
- Psalms 126:5Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
- Proverbs 11:18A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
- Proverbs 19:17Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
- Matthew 10:13If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.
- Matthew 25:40“The King will reply, ‘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. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- Galatians 6:8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
- Hebrews 6:10God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help 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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