New Living Translation
Ecclesiastes 11:1
1Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.
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 grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. 2But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. 3When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
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 32:20the Lord will greatly bless his people. Wherever they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.
- Deuteronomy 15:10Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
- Psalms 41:1Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The Lord rescues them when they are in trouble.
- Psalms 126:5Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
- Proverbs 11:18Evil people get rich for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last.
- Proverbs 19:17If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!
- Matthew 10:13If it turns out to be a worthy home, let your blessing stand; if it is not, take back the blessing.
- Matthew 25:40“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
- Luke 14:14Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
- 2 Corinthians 9:6Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.
- Galatians 6:8Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.
- Hebrews 6:10For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.
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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