Diligence in the Present

¹Send out your grain on the waters by ship,

for after many days you will find financial return.

²Give a portion to seven, or even eight, investments,[#Ps 112:9; 1Ti 6:18–19]

for you do not know what calamity might occur on earth.

³If the clouds are full,

they empty rain on the land;

and if a tree falls to the north or south,

in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.

⁴He who observes the wind will not sow,

and he who observes the clouds will not reap.

⁵Just as you do not know the path of the wind,[#Jn 3:8]

or how the bones grow to fullness in the womb of a woman with child;

so you do not know the work of God

who makes everything.

⁶In the morning sow your seed,

and at evening do not let your hands rest;

for you do not know which activity will find success,

this or that,

or whether both alike will be good.

Youth and Old Age

⁷Light is sweet,

and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

⁸Even if a man 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.

⁹Rejoice, 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 in the sight of your eyes;

but know that for all these things

God will bring you into judgment.

¹⁰Remove anxiety from your heart,

and put away distress from your body,

for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.