Ecclesiastes 11:2

11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. upon: Heb. upon the face of the waters

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

KJV

Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.

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

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you know not what evil shall be on the earth.

11:3 If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.

What does Ecclesiastes 11:2 mean?

Ecclesiastes 11:2 is a verse in the book of Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include נָתַן (nâthan), חֵלֶק (chêleq), שֶׁבַע (shebaʻ). It connects to 13 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

Giveנָתַןnâthan/naw-than'/H5414to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.)

portionחֵלֶקchêleq/khay'lek/H2506properly, smoothness (of the tongue); also an allotment

seven,שֶׁבַעshebaʻ/sheh'-bah/H7651seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number

and

also

eight;שְׁמֹנֶהshᵉmôneh/shem-o-neh'/H8083a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the 'perfect' seven); also (as ordinal) eighth

for

thou

knowestיָדַעyâdaʻ/yaw-dah'/H3045to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)

not

what

evilרַעraʻ/rah/H7451bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)

shall

upon

the

earth.אֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/H776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 11:2

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.

Proverbs 30:8

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: convenient: Heb. of my allowance

Ecclesiastes 11:5

As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Isaiah 44:20

He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

Jeremiah 16:19

O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

Jeremiah 31:33

But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 31:34

And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Jonah 2:8

They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

Ephesians 4:22

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Hebrews 8:10

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: put: Gr. give in: or, upon

Hebrews 8:11

And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

1 John 1:8

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 2:4

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Revelation 22:15

For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Topics

Liberality

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Ecclesiastes 11:2.

Genesis 1:17

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

Genesis 1:29

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. bearing: Heb. seeding seed yielding: Heb. seeding seed

Genesis 20:6

And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

Genesis 3:22

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Genesis 3:5

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 4:12

When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Genesis 41:19

And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:

Genesis 41:20

And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine:

Frequently asked questions

What does Ecclesiastes 11:2 say?

Ecclesiastes 11:2 (King James Version) reads: "Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth."

Is Ecclesiastes 11:2 in the Old or New Testament?

Ecclesiastes 11:2 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Reflect

As you read Ecclesiastes 11:2, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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