This document provides an analysis of Ecclesiastes 11. It includes: 1) A summary of the key verses and themes about helping others without expectation of return and obeying God's will despite circumstances. 2) An outline dividing the passage into sections about trusting in God's timing and ultimately being judged. 3) Detailed interpretations of individual verses examining original Hebrew words and concepts. The overall message encourages spreading kindness, sowing seeds of faith regularly, and remembering God will judge all actions, so youth should avoid evil and turn to their Creator.

1. 1
Topic: Ecclesiastes 11
Contents------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.01
Verses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.02
Passage Summary -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.03
Outline -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.03
Verse Interpretation of the passage-------------------------------------------------------------------------p04
Appendix
A. Inductive Study for critical words and verses
Verse 1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.06
Verse 4---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.07
Verse 5---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.08
Verse 8---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.08
Verse 10-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.09
B. Application----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------p.11

2. 2
Verses
1. Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. (ESV)
2. Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.
(ESV)
3. If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth and if a tree falls to the south
or to the north,in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie. (ESV)
4. He who observes the wind will not sow,and he who regards the clouds will not reap. (ESV)
5. As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of
her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all. (ASV)
6. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know
which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. (ESV)
7. Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. (ESV)
8. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days
of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity. (ESV)
9. Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.
Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God
will bring you into judgment. (ESV)
10. Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain (or evil) from your body, for youth and the
dawn of life are vanity. (ESV)

3. 3
Passage Summary
Help others to show your love in case you may need their help later, like casting bread above water or
sowing the seeds despite of day or night. Obey the Law in order to face the judgment from God at the
end of day since any good or bad days would become in vain at that time.
Outline
I. It is all God’s Work and HIS Schedule (verses 1-6)
(1) Give a portion of your own to the needed because you will never know when and what will
happen to you (verses 1 & 2);
(2) God has HIS WILL and RIGHT to decide the time and place that things will happen (verse 3);
(3) Do not wait for “our right moment” to start the work since we do not know at all what God’s
doing is. (verses 4 & 5);
(4) Do your duty at any time as God’s request for all of usdespite of the circumstances. (verse 6).
II. Do good, Do bad, In front of people, In the Dark, God sees all and will judge them all in our final day
(verses 7-10)
(1) Enjoy whatever God gave to you (verse 7 & 8a). More importantly, keep in mind that there will
be dark days to come. Then everything comes as vanity (verse 8b);
(2) You; Youth, enjoy what you see and how you feel (verse 9a). However, everything that you did
will be judged by God; your Creator (verse 9b);
(3) You; Youth, remove the grief from your heart, be away from evil and return to your
Creator before it is too late for you; when the judgment day comes (verse 10).

4. 4
Verse Interpretation of the passage
I . It is all God’s work and HIS Schedule (verses 1-6)
(1) Give a portion of your own to the needed because you will never know when and what will
happen to you (verses 1 & 2);
From 11.1: Stretch your helping hand (the bread) widely and without having anything
attached as the spreading of the waters without knowing where the bread; the help that
you have given, would go just as the water which does not know the direction that it will
stream to, and you will receive (from) him the day when you need it.
From 11:2: Give some of your belongings to group of people because you cannot foresee
when the disaster will happen on earth.
(2) God has HIS WILL and RIGHT to decide the time and place that things will happen (verse 3);
From 11.3: The distress will happen according to God’s time and place.
(3) Do not wait for the “right moment (from our point of view)” to start the work (like giving a
portion of your own) since we do not know what God’s doing is at all. (verses 4 & 5);
Do not use Human’s accumulated experience (like farmers) to foresee/forecast the best
time to conduct your next step since all the natural governing rules/schedule were set
up/decided by our Creator and you have no knowledge/control of them at all.
From 11:4: He who waits for the wind to die down or waits for the wind toward the right
direction in his opinion will never seed and he who is looking at the cloud anxiously and
waiting for the rain to fall will never reap because it is based on God’s governing rules and
schedule which man has no way to forecast/foresee.
From 11:5: Since you do not know what the path of the wind is just like not understanding
the baby’s development in a mother’s womb, therefore you will not know at all regarding
the work of GOD who will do all.
(4) Do your duty as God’s request for all of us at any time despite of the circumstances (from
our judgment) (verse 6).
From 11:6: In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you
do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

5. 5
II . Do good, Do bad, In front of people, In the Dark, God sees and will judge them all in our final day
(verses 7-10)
(1) Enjoy whatever God gave to you (verse 7 & 8a). More importantly; keep in mind that there
will be dark days to come. Then everything comes as vanity (verse 8b);
From 11:8: If man lives many more years, he should be happy in all the years but more
importantly he should remember that the dark days will come. Then everything will become
comes as vanity.
(2) You; Youth, enjoy what you see and how you feel (verse 9a). However, everything that you
did will be judged by God; your Creator (verse 9b);
11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your
youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these
things God will bring you into judgment. (ESV)
(3) You; Youth, remove the grief from your heart, be away from evil and return to your Creator
before it is too late for you; when the judgment day comes (verse 10).
10a: You; Youth, should remove sorrow or grief from their hearts (since sorrow or grief may
be caused by the action that their hearts led them to do or think).
10b: You; Youth’ should also be away from evil (that influences in their bodies to cause them
doing the thing that would not please God).
10c: You; Youth, should return to their Creator by doing things above before it is too late for
you; the coming of the days of distress. (Because either in the days with pleasure or the time
of distress, the happiness or distress would be in vain since at the end God will bring
everything that we did; big or small, appearing or hidden, into HIS judgment. That is why that
the Preacher said) “for youth and the dawn of life are vanity”.

6. 6
Appendix
A. Inductive Study for critical words and verses
Verse 1
“Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return.” (NIV)
“Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” (KJV)
“Cast ( ) your bread upon the waters, for you will find it ( ) after many days.” (ESV)
Pi`el, 2nd
Male, single,perfect tense
(Piel)
1) to send off or away or out or forth, dismiss, give over, cast out
2) to let go, set free
3) to shoot forth (of branches)
4) to shoot forth (of branches)
5) to shoot
“Cast out” or “Give over” will be a suitable choice.
Qal. 2nd
Male single, imperfect tense, with 3rd
male single ending (not find it in ESV, should
be find him)
(Qal)
1a) to find
1b) to find, secure, acquire, get (thing sought)
1c) to find (what is lost)
1d) to meet, encounter
1e) to find (a condition)
1f) to learn, devise
2a) to find out
2b) to find out
2c) to detect
2d) to guess
3a) to come upon, light upon
3b) to happen upon, meet, fall in with
3c) to hit
3d) to befall
Comparing the meaning “as secure as crop” in Genesis 26:12 to Ecclesiastes 11:1

7. 7
(From http://biblesuite.com/hebrew/4672.htm)
Genesis 26:12 “And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped ( ) in the same year a hundedfold.”
Translation can be either find him or harvest (the crops).
1 Cast out your bread(containing with love; like Jelly Donuts or Chinese Dumplings) upon the
waters (stretch your helping hand widely as the spreading of the waters without knowing
where the bread; the help that you have given, would go just as the water which does not
know the direction that will stream to), for you will receive (help from)him (as harvest) after
many days.
Verse 4
“Whoever watches the wind will not plant;whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.”(NIV)
“He who observes the wind will not sow,and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”(ESV)
“He who watches ( ‫)ר‬ the wind will not sow ( ‫)ע‬ and he who looks ( ‫)ה‬ at the clouds
will not reap ( ).” (ASV)
‫:ר‬ Qal, Participle, single male, watch, observe (http://biblesuite.com/hebrew/8104.htm);
‫:ע‬ Qal, imperfect, 3rd
, single, male, sow/seed
‫:ה‬Qal, Participle, single, male, gaze at with
apprehension(http://biblesuite.com/hebrew/7200.htm);
: Qal, imperfect, 3rd
, single male, reap.
4. He who observes the wind (waits for the wind to die down or waiting for the wind toward
theright direction in his opinion) will never seed and he who is anxiously gazing at the dark
cloud (or looking at the cloud anxiously and waiting for the rain to fall) will never reap
(because it is based on God’s schedule which man has no way to forecast/foresee).
It’s our view or God’s view (Verse 1, 4 and 3b)
Tossed away our bread on the water (Verse 1a) sounds irrational and illogical from our (human’s)
“accumulated wisdom” since it would be “a waste” to us. Similarly it would be logical; especially
from experienced farmer’s point of view, of not spread the seeds if the wind is not in his
preferred direction (verse4a), gazing at the dark cloud and waiting for the rain and then working
in the field in order to harvest the crops (verse4b).
Apparently the author wants us to realize in here that it is God’s work and HIS vision; NOT ours,
to decide where the seed is going to land and when the rain is going to fall, even where the
tree is going to lie when it falls (verse3b).

8. 8
Verse 5
“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so
you cannot understand the work of God, maker of all things.” (NIV)
“As thou knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of
her that is with child; even so thou knowest not the work of God who doeth all.” (ASV)
“As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb[a] of a woman with
child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.”(ESV)
6. (Since) you do not know what the path of the wind isjust like(not understanding) the bones
(baby’s development)in a mother’s womb, therefore you will not know the work of GOD who
will do all.”
: like or as
Verse 8
“So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days
of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.”(ESV)
“However many years anyone may live,let them enjoy them all, But let them remember the days
of darkness, for there will be many.Everything to come is meaningless.” (NIV)
“Yea, if a man live many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember the days of
darkness, for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity” (ASV)
8. If man lives many more years, he should be happy in all the years but (more importantly) he
should remember the darkness (days). Because when it becomes many, everything comes as
vanity.

9. 9
Verse 10
“Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh, for youth and the
dawn of life are vanity.” (ASV)
“Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain (or evil) from your body, for youth and
the dawn of life are vanity” (ESV)
“Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and
youth are vanity” (KJV)
Both verbs “remove” and “put away” are Hifil.
In order to understand fully the meaning of verse 11:10, we need to proceed further to verses
12:1, 13 and 14.
In 12:1
“1. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and the
years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”
Evil can mean distress; “in the day of evil” can be translated as “in the day of disaster” (Jeremiah
17:17)
If we add verse 12:13 and 14 combining with 12:1 into our consideration regarding the meaning
of verse 11:10:
12:1“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and
the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them””
12:13 “This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: fear God, and keep his
commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.”
12:14 “For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil.”
We will see the meaning in verse 11:10 as follows:
Verse 11:10a: Youth should remove sorrow or grief from their hearts since sorrow or grief may
be caused by the action that their hearts led them to do or think. Like the Preacher ironically
mentioned in verse 11:9b; “follow the way of your heart and whatever your eyes see”(as
Mathew Henry mentioned in his NIV Commentary pp;883).
Verse 11:10b: Youth should also be away from evil that will have influence in their bodies to
cause them to do things that will not please God.

10. 10
Verse 11:10c: Youth should return to their Creator by doing things above before it is too late for
them; the coming of the days of distress. Because either in the days with pleasureor in the time
of distress, the happiness or distress would be in vain since at the end God will bring everything
that we did; big or small, appearing or hidden, into HIS judgment. That is why that the Preacher
said “for youth and the dawn of life are vanity”.
In King Solomon’s message, he reminded us the following:
In verses 1-6
Spread your love (helping hands) to all the needed despite of the circumstance; rational or
irrational, because we never know when we may need help from them whom we have helped
since God’s has His own schedule for everything. Combining this with sow the seeds anytime
(verses 5-6), what the preacher tried to tell us is that
Help others despite of the circumstance since we do not know when may need the help back
from them at the time of distress.
The author painted a picture for the readers to show that we always use our accumulated
experiences to foreseewhat is going to happen and then decide our next step.
In verses 7-10
The preacher ironically “encourage” us to do whatever our heart leads us to do and enjoy
whatever our eyes show us to see. But he also stated that no matter whatever we did, there will
be a final judgment at the end of our day from God regarding all we did in our life. Therefore, in
Verse 12:13, the preacher asked the readers to obey the commandments and that is all the
people in Old Testament needed to do.
Help others to show your love in case you may need their help later, like casting bread above
water or sowing the seeds despite of day or night. Obey the Law in order to face the judgment
from God at the end of day since any good or bad days would become in vain at that time.
The message from Chapter 11 sounds like more personal related; helping others from
personal love and for self-benefit.

11. 11
B. Application
In New Testament, It can be implemented as loving others by the love from God through us and
it is God who will receive him instead us.
Explain as follows:
In analysis of Verse 11:1 as mentioned previously,
Qal. 2nd Male single, imperfect tense, with 3rd male single ending
Comparing the meaning “as secure as crop” in Genesis 26:12 to Ecclesiastes 11:1
(From http://biblesuite.com/hebrew/4672.htm)
Genesis 26:12 “And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped ( ) in the same year a hundedfold.”
can be translated as find him or harvest the crops.
If we can combine these two meanings and apply it in New Testament, in my opinion it should
be translated into “harvest him”(by showing God’s love through us instead of “receive him”
through personal love in Old Testament).
Then we should be able to apply the teaching from Ecclesiastes 11 as follows:
Help othersand show them God’s love through us at any occasions. Spread the Gospel despite
of circumstances like sowing the seeds despite of day or nightsince we do not know when
God’s time is to let the seed grow.
Like Paul stated in Timothy 4:2
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season”
Obey the Holy Spirit’s guidance inside our heart to become blameless day by day. As Christian
we understand that we should not love the world and only should focus our eyes upon our
Lord.