| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1Send your grain overseas, for after many days you will get a return. | 1Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. |
| 2Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth. | 2Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. |
| 3If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls. | 3If clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie. |
| 4He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap. | 4Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. |
| 5Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones form in the womb of a pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. | 5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. |
| 6Sow your seed in the morning, and do not stop working until the evening; for you do not know which activity will succeed--whether this one or that one, or whether both will prosper equally. | 6Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. |
| 7Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun. | 7Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. |
| 8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many--all that is about to come is obscure. | 8However many years anyone may live, let them enjoy them all. But let them remember the days of darkness, for there will be many. Everything to come is meaningless. |
| 9Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions. | 9You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. |
| 10Banish emotional stress from your mind. and put away pain from your body; for youth and the prime of life are fleeting. | 10So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. |
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