Ecclesiastes 11 (ESV)

10 verses · English Standard Version · Essentially literal

The ESV balances word-for-word accuracy with modern English readability. Favored by scholars and pastors for study and preaching, it preserves the structure of the original Hebrew and Greek while using clear, contemporary language.

Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 contains 10 verses and is presented here in the English Standard Version (ESV), which uses a essentially literal approach. Read the full text below, compare with other translations, or navigate to any of the 12 chapters in Ecclesiastes.

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Chapter 10Chapter 12

1Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.

2Give a portion to seven, or even to eight, for you know not what disaster may happen on earth.

3If 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.

4He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

5As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones 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 withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

7Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.

8So 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.

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 the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.

10Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.

Chapter 10Read in NIVChapter 12

About This Translation

What is Ecclesiastes 11 in the ESV?

Ecclesiastes 11 in the English Standard Version (ESV) contains 10 verses. The ESV uses a essentially literal approach, first published in 2001 (rev. 2016).

How does the ESV translate Ecclesiastes 11 differently?

The English Standard Version uses essentially literal, balancing accuracy with modern readability. Compare this with the NIV (dynamic equivalence) version of Ecclesiastes 11 for a different perspective.

How many verses are in Ecclesiastes 11 (ESV)?

Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 contains 10 verses in the English Standard Version. The book of Ecclesiastes has 12 chapters total.

Ecclesiastes (ESV) — All 12 Chapters