Invest in Life
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If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain on the earth;
whether a tree falls to the south or the north,
the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
4 whether a tree falls to the south or the north,
the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
One who watches the wind will not sow,
and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.
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6 and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.
In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.
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8 and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.
Indeed, if a man lives many years,
let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness,(E) since they will be many.
All that comes is futile.
9 let him rejoice in them all,
and let him remember the days of darkness,(E) since they will be many.
All that comes is futile.
Rejoice, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;(F)
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
10 and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
And walk in the ways of your heart
and in the sight of your eyes;(F)
but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.
Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,(G)
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
and put away pain from your flesh,(G)
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
Footnotes:
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Ecclesiastes 11:5: Or know how the life-breath comes to the bones in