Ecclesiastes 11
Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel
Ecclesiastes chapter 11 is given here in full, verse by verse, in Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), with the Greek text of the Septuagint set beneath each verse. The text follows the Septuagint tradition received throughout the Orthodox Church.
1 patristic excerpt is attached to this chapter, from Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus.
Ecclesiastes 11
1Send forth your bread upon the face of the water: for you shall find it after many days.Ἀπόστειλον τὸν ἄρτον σου ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τοῦ ὕδατος, ὅτι ἐν πλήθει ἡμερῶν εὑρήσεις αὐτόν.
2Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you know not what evil there shall be upon the earth.Δὸς μερίδα τοῖς ἑπτὰ, καί γε τοῖς ὀκτὼ, ὅτι οὐ γινώσκεις τί ἔσται πονηρὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.
3If the clouds be filled with rain, they pour it out upon the earth: and if a tree fall southward, or if it fall northward, in the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be.Ἐὰν πλησθῶσι τὰ νέφη ὑετοῦ, ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐκχέουσι· καὶ ἐὰν πέσῃ ξύλον ἐν τῷ Νότῳ, καὶ ἐὰν ἐν τῷ Βοῤῥᾷ, τόπῳ οὗ πεσεῖται τὸ ξυλον, ἐκεῖ ἔσται.
4He that observes the wind sows not; and he that looks at the clouds will not reap.Τηρῶν ἄνεμον οὐ σπείρει, καὶ βλέπων ἐν ταῖς νεφέλαις οὐ θερίσει.
5Among whom none knows what is the way of the wind: as the bones are hid in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you shall not know the works of God, even all things whatever he shall do.Ἐν οἷς οὐκ ἔστι γινώσκων τίς ἡ ὁδὸς τοῦ πνεύματος, ὡς ὀστᾶ ἐν γαστρὶ κυοφορούσης, οὕτως οὐ γνώσῃ τὰ ποιήματα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅσα ποιήσει τὰ σύμπαντα.
6In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening let not your hand be slack: for you know not what sort shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both shall be good alike.Ἐν τῷ πρωῒ σπεῖρον τὸ σπέρμα σου, καὶ ἐν ἑσπέρᾳ μὴ ἀφέτω ἡ χείρ σου, ὅτι οὐ γινώσκεις ποῖον στοιχήσει, ἢ τοῦτο ἢ τοῦτο, καὶ ἐὰν τὰ δύο ἐπιτοαυτὸ ἀγαθά.
7Moreover the light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.Καὶ γλυκὺ τὸ φῶς, καὶ ἀγαθὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ βλέπειν σὺν τὸν ἥλιον.
8For even if a man should live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that comes is vanity.Ὅτ καὶ ἐὰν ἔτη πολλὰ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς εὐφρανθήσεται καὶ μνησθήσεται τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ σκότους, ὅτι πολλαὶ ἔσονται· πᾶν τὸ ἐρχόμενον ματαιότης.
9Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart blameless, but not in the sight of your eyes: yet know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.Εὐφραίνου νεανίσκε ἐν νεότητί σου, καὶ ἀγαθυνάτω σε ἡ καρδία σου ἐν ἡμέραις νεότητός σου, καὶ περιπάτει ἐν ὁδοῖς καρδίας σου ἄμωμος, καὶ μὴ ἐν ὁράσει ὀφθαλμῶν σου· καὶ γνῶθι ὅτι ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις ἄξει σε ὁ Θεὸς ἐν κρίσει.
10Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh: for youth and folly are vanity.Καὶ ἀπόστησον θυμὸν ἀπὸ καρδίας σου, καὶ πάραγε πονηρίαν ἀπὸ σαρκός σου, ὅτι ἡ νεότης καὶ ἡ ἄνοια ματαιότης.
The Fathers on Ecclesiastes 11
Saint Gregory Thaumaturgus comments on this chapter. Each excerpt below is drawn from the full text held in the Fathers Library; follow the link on any entry to read the whole work.
On Ecclesiastes 11Open Ecclesiastes 11 in the interactive reader Switch translations, hear the chapter read aloud, tap any verse for its patristic commentary, and study the Greek word by word.Saint Gregory ThaumaturgusChapter XI. Moreover, it is a righteous thing to give (to the needy) of thy bread, and of those things which are necessary for the support of man’s life. For though thou seemest forthwith to waste it upon some persons, as if thou didst cast thy bread upon the water, yet in the progress of time thy kindness shall be seen to be not unprofitable for thee. Also…
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