Cast Your Bread upon the Waters

Cast your bread upon the waters,

for after many days you will find it [again].

2 

Divide your portion among seven, or even eight,

for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.

3 

If the clouds are full,

they will pour out rain upon the earth;

whether a tree falls to the south or to the north,

in the place where [it] falls, there it will lie.

4 

He who watches the wind will fail to sow,

and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

5 

As you do not know the path of the wind,

or how the bones [are formed][fn] in a mother’s womb,

so you cannot understand the work of God,

vvv the Maker of all things.

6 

Sow your seed in the morning,

and do not rest your hands in the evening,

for you do not know which will succeed,

whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.

7