| New International Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. | 1Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you. |
| 2Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. | 2But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. |
| 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. | 3When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls. |
| 4Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. | 4Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. |
| 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. | 5Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. |
| 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. | 6Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both. Advice for Young and Old |
| 7Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. | 7Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning. |
| 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. | 8When people live to be very old, let them rejoice in every day of life. But let them also remember there will be many dark days. Everything still to come is meaningless. |
| 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. | 9Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. |
| 10So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless. | 10So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy. But remember that youth, with a whole life before you, is meaningless. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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