Ecclesiastes 11:1

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. upon: Heb. upon the face of the waters

KJV

Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days.

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

Cast your bread on the waters: for you shall find it after many days.

11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.

What does Ecclesiastes 11:1 mean?

Ecclesiastes 11:1 is a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include שָׁלַח (shâlach), לֶחֶם (lechem), פָּנִים (pânîym). It connects to 6 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Castשָׁלַחshâlach/shaw-lakh'/H7971to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)

thy

breadלֶחֶםlechem/lekh'-em/H3899food (for man or beast), especially bread, or grain (for making it)

uponפָּנִיםpânîym/paw-neem'/H6440the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)

the

waters:מַיִםmayim/mah'-yim/H4325water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen

for

thou

shalt

findמָצָאmâtsâʼ/maw-tsaw'/H4672properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present

after

manyרֹבrôb/robe/H7230abundance (in any respect)

days.יוֹםyôwm/yome/H3117a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)

upon:

Heb.

upon

the

face

the

waters

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 11:1

HENRY_FULL · Ecclesiastes 11:1–2

all its complaints are received by a gracious God, 1 John v. 14, 15 . 2. David's earnest desire of the continuance of that intimacy, not by visions and voices from heaven, but by the word and Spirit in an ordinary way: Teach me thy statutes, that is, Make me to understand the way of thy precepts. When he knew God had heard his declaration of his ways he did not say, "Now, Lord, tell me my lot, and let me know what the event will be;" but, "Now, Lord, tell me my duty; let me know what thou wouldst have me to do as the case stands." Note, Those who in all their ways acknowledge God may pray in faith that he will direct their steps in the right way. And the surest way of keeping up our communion with God is by learning his statutes and walking intelligently in the way of his precepts. See 1 John i. 6, 7 . 3. The good use he would make of this for the honour of God and the edification of others: "Let me have a good understanding of the way of thy precepts; give me a clear, distinct, and methodical knowledge of divine things; so shall I talk with the more assurance, and the more to the purpose, of thy wondrous works. " We can talk with a better grace of God's wondrous works, the wonders of providence, and especially the wonders of redeeming love, when we understand the way of God's precepts and walk in that way. 28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. 29 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. Here is, 1. David's representation of his own griefs: My soul melteth for heaviness, which is to the same purport with v. 25 , My soul cleaveth to the dust. Heaviness in the heart of man makes it to melt, to drop away like a candle that wastes. The penitent soul melts in sorrow for sin, and even the patient soul may melt in the sense of affliction, and it is then its interest to pour out its supplication before God. 2. His request for God's grace. (1.) That God would enable him to bear his affliction well and graciously support him under it: " Strengthen thou me with strength in my soul, according to thy word, which, as the bread of life, strengthens man's hear

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Deuteronomy 33:25

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. Thy shoes: or, Under thy shoes

Joshua 2:11

And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. did there: Heb. rose up

Joshua 2:24

And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. faint: Heb. melt

Zechariah 10:12

And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.

Ephesians 3:16

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Topics

Liberality Missionaries, All Christians Should Be As Seed

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Ecclesiastes 11:1.

Genesis 8:9

But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. pulled: Heb. caused her to come

Genesis 21:14

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Genesis 4:14

Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Genesis 8:8

Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;

Genesis 1:2

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:20

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. moving: or, creeping life: Heb. soul fowl: Heb. let fowl fly open: Heb. face of the firmament of heaven

Genesis 16:7

And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

Genesis 18:16

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

Frequently asked questions

What does Ecclesiastes 11:1 say?

Ecclesiastes 11:1 (King James Version) reads: "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. upon: Heb. upon the face of the waters"

Is Ecclesiastes 11:1 in the Old or New Testament?

Ecclesiastes 11:1 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Reflect

As you read Ecclesiastes 11:1, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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