CHAPTERXI.

CHAPTERXI.CAST thy bread¹upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.¹Hebrewupon the face of the waters.CAST thy bread on the face of the waters: for in the multitude of the days——thou wilt find it.XI.(1.)Cast thy bread upon the face of the waters, for in the multitude of the days thou shalt find it.(This passage is usually taken as an exhortation to liberality. Hengstenberg however understands it to refer to ships and their cargo of grain.♦Zöckler refers to Proverbsxi.24 for a similar sentiment, and Lukexvi.9; the idea is clearly that of an unexpected return).♦“Zökler” replaced with “Zöckler” for consistency2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.Give a share all round, and to some one else beside, for thou dost not know what sort of mischief shall be in the earth.(2.)Give a portion to seven, and also to eight(see Jobv.19, Micahv.4 (5), for similar idioms; it is equivalent to our‘everybody, and some one else’),for not dost thou know what shall be mischief upon the earth.3 If the clouds be full of rain, they emptythemselvesupon 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.Ifthe clouds areFULLof rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if falls the tree by the south [wind] or by the north——the place where the treefallsis just where it will be.(3.)If they are full the clouds(עבis the thick vapour that appears and disappears)rain(גשםis the storm rain which does mischief or good according to circumstances, seechapterxii.2)they cause to empty(clouds do not always prognosticate rain; and even if they should, a storm may do mischief rather than good);and if is falling a tree in the south, orifeitherin the north(‘if’ is hence emphatic)the place wheremayfall(contracted relative)the tree(now with the article, for it is the falling tree spoken of above)there it will be(the unusual formיהואhas troubled the commentators much: Moses Stuart pronounces theאto be otiose, which is not explaining the form at all. But may not the following be a sufficient explanation?——הואin this book is used in the sense of the existence of an object: might not Koheleth coin a verb by adding theיof the present tense, with the idea, ‘makes itself be’?——compare also Joshuax.24, Isaiahxxiii.12, where this otioseאoccurs; the rendering of theLXX.byἔσταιshows how they understood it, and so also the Syriac and Vulgate. The whole sentence is ironical, when the tree has really fallen, then we know which way it fell. The Masoretic accentuation of this passage is peculiar——we should naturally have expected them to have divided the verse into two clauses, atיריקו, ‘they empty,’ instead of which the greatest pause occurs at ‘north’בַּצָּפ֑וֹן, but this method of reading renders the irony of the passage; the verse will then stand thus:——‘If the clouds are full of rain they will empty themselves upon the earth, and so if the tree should incline to the south, or if it should incline to the north——the place where it falls is where it really willbe.’ The accentuation is rhetorical rather than logical, and the Masorets have shown great taste in their pointing).4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.Looking at the wind one does not sow, and gazing into the clouds one does not reap.(4.)Regarding wind! not doesonesow(impersonal),and looking into clouds neither is one reaping(we must attend to the precise form of the words in this sentence in order to gather the true nature of the sarcasm hidden in it; theLXX.have clearly marked these forms in their rendering).5 As thou knowest not whatisthe way of the spirit,norhow the bonesdo growin the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.Just as thou art not one who knows the way of the spirit, how the bones are in the womb of the pregnant: just so thou knowest nothing with respect to the working of the Almighty, who is working out the whole.(5.)As thou art not one who knows what is the way of the spirit, like thebones in the womb of the pregnant, just so, thou dost not know, with respect to the working of the Deity, Who is He that(full relative)performs with regard to the whole.(TheLXX.render the first partἐν οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν γινώσκων, ‘among whom none knows,’ taking no notice of the pronounthou. Did they read theכat the end ofאינךas beginning the following word? That the sentence is equivocal, and that this equivoke helps the general drift of the passage is not to be doubted.) The subject now returns to the previous train of argument, which directs man to do his duty in submission to the inscrutable ways of Providence.6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether¹shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they bothshall bealike good.¹Hebrewshall be right.In the morning sow the seed thou oughtest, and to the evening do not withhold thy hand, forTHOUcanst not tell if it shall succeed, whether this or another, or if all of it shall be alike good.(6.)In the morning sow thy seed(withאת, ‘sow that seed which you ought to sow,’)and to the evening(note the change of preposition, it renders this passage a better introduction to what is to follow: there is a reference to the evening of life)do not withhold thy hand(compare chaptervii.18, whereאתis used with this verb, and observe the difference in meaning),for it is not thou who knowest(a repetition of this clause from the preceding verse)whether(but compare 1 Kingsxxii.24, and 1 Samuelix.18, showing that the meaning withזהis ‘what way’ or ‘how,’)succeeds(seechapterx.10and references)the this or this, or if both of them as one(ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό‘to the same,’LXX.)good(plural; sowing is no doubt taken generically as a type of human labour, performed in expectation of a future harvest, and the Preacher directs us to do our appointed work in patience, and from morning till evening,i.e.the whole day through, sure of a good result. The morning or the evening sowing will, one or other, perhaps both, succeed; the transition to what follows is quite natural).7 ¶ Truly the lightissweet, and a pleasantthing it isfor the eyes to behold the sun:Yes, sweet is the light, and a good to the eyes the sight of the sun;(7.)And sweet(but the participial form ‘sweetened’ is not to be altogether overlooked; thus, ‘is sweetened’)the light, and a good to the eyes to behold(i.e.to have sight of)the sun, (for lifeisa blessing, and this is a reply to the equivocal ‘I said in my heart’ of chapteriii.18 andiv.3).8 But if a man live many years,andrejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that comethisvanity.yet if man lives to the very longest limit of his days, in all of them he may rejoice, and remember with respect to the days of darkness that they shall be many too: all that is coming is evanescent.(8.)For if the years are many(that is, if his years are as long as they can be)the man(humanity generally)in all of them rejoices(but as the noun stands before the verb, it is emphatic, and in this case, as the verb is preceded byבכלם, is potential——‘may rejoice’),and remembers with regardto days of darkness(that is, forgetfulness, the days when he is forgotten, and also of sorrow or sadness, for both meanings are combined)for the many(repeating the above, with the sense, then, ‘for very many also,’)will they be, all which may come(‘every coming event’ that is, as the contracted relative shows)is vanity(evanescent).9 ¶ Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all thesethingsGod will bring thee into judgment.Rejoice, O choice young man, in the days of thy youth, and let thy heart do thee good in the choice days of thy youth, and walk in ways of thy heart and sights of thine eyes, and know how, on account of all these things thou shalt be summoned of the Almighty to judgment.(9.)Rejoice, young man(butבחרhas the sense of ‘choice,’ and this is to be remembered here)in thy youth(butילדותoccurs here only; see however Psalmscx.3, which the Masorets pointיַלְדֻתֶךָ; this word is the abstract of the wordילד, which means ‘to beget;’ hence the exact meaning ofילדותwould be ‘productions’),and cause good to theeletthy heart in days of thy choosings(forבחורותalso occurs only here and chapterxii.1, and youth therefore is so designated, because it is a time of choice),and walk in ways of thy heart, and seeings of thine eyes; and know how, upon all these, thou art caused to comeofthe Deity into judgment.(TheLXX.have here the glossἄμωμος——‘in the ways of thine heartblameless;’ but the Syriac Hexaplar notes this gloss with an asterisk, so that it is clearly not entitled to any weight; it was no doubt a subsequent addition to the text, because the meaning was not seen, as indeed it cannot be, without a reference to the double meanings of the Hebrew words.)10 Therefore remove¹sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youtharevanity.¹Or, anger.Put away disappointment from thine heart, and purge away mischief from thy flesh, for childhood and early expectations are evanescent.(10.)And put away disappointment(כעס, chapteri.18, references)from thy heart, and pass away evil from thy flesh; because the producings and the dawnings(שחרותoccurs here only; for the meaning of the root see Jobvii.21, Psalmslxxviii.34, Proverbsxiii.24. So the meaning of the word here is ‘early seekings,’ which theLXX.renderad sensumbyἡ ἄνοια, ‘the ignorance;’ and the Syriac by(‡ Syriac word)(‡ Syriac word)(‡ Syriac word)(‡ Syriac word)‘because childhood and not to know’)is vanity(singular; ‘each one is so,’ as a plural precedes). That the passage is ironical we cannot doubt, but it is good advice, even the very best, as it stands. Youth is the time of choice, the time of productions, or, if one will——and theexpression will preserve an equivoke similar to that in the text——conception; but this time is evanescent. We choose our path in life when young, but then we cannot go back. He who changes his calling once rarely succeeds in it, and never if he chooses twice.

CAST thy bread¹upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.¹Hebrewupon the face of the waters.

CAST thy bread¹upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

¹Hebrewupon the face of the waters.

CAST thy bread on the face of the waters: for in the multitude of the days——thou wilt find it.

XI.(1.)Cast thy bread upon the face of the waters, for in the multitude of the days thou shalt find it.(This passage is usually taken as an exhortation to liberality. Hengstenberg however understands it to refer to ships and their cargo of grain.♦Zöckler refers to Proverbsxi.24 for a similar sentiment, and Lukexvi.9; the idea is clearly that of an unexpected return).♦“Zökler” replaced with “Zöckler” for consistency

♦“Zökler” replaced with “Zöckler” for consistency

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

Give a share all round, and to some one else beside, for thou dost not know what sort of mischief shall be in the earth.

(2.)Give a portion to seven, and also to eight(see Jobv.19, Micahv.4 (5), for similar idioms; it is equivalent to our‘everybody, and some one else’),for not dost thou know what shall be mischief upon the earth.

3 If the clouds be full of rain, they emptythemselvesupon 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.

Ifthe clouds areFULLof rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if falls the tree by the south [wind] or by the north——the place where the treefallsis just where it will be.

(3.)If they are full the clouds(עבis the thick vapour that appears and disappears)rain(גשםis the storm rain which does mischief or good according to circumstances, seechapterxii.2)they cause to empty(clouds do not always prognosticate rain; and even if they should, a storm may do mischief rather than good);and if is falling a tree in the south, orifeitherin the north(‘if’ is hence emphatic)the place wheremayfall(contracted relative)the tree(now with the article, for it is the falling tree spoken of above)there it will be(the unusual formיהואhas troubled the commentators much: Moses Stuart pronounces theאto be otiose, which is not explaining the form at all. But may not the following be a sufficient explanation?——הואin this book is used in the sense of the existence of an object: might not Koheleth coin a verb by adding theיof the present tense, with the idea, ‘makes itself be’?——compare also Joshuax.24, Isaiahxxiii.12, where this otioseאoccurs; the rendering of theLXX.byἔσταιshows how they understood it, and so also the Syriac and Vulgate. The whole sentence is ironical, when the tree has really fallen, then we know which way it fell. The Masoretic accentuation of this passage is peculiar——we should naturally have expected them to have divided the verse into two clauses, atיריקו, ‘they empty,’ instead of which the greatest pause occurs at ‘north’בַּצָּפ֑וֹן, but this method of reading renders the irony of the passage; the verse will then stand thus:——‘If the clouds are full of rain they will empty themselves upon the earth, and so if the tree should incline to the south, or if it should incline to the north——the place where it falls is where it really willbe.’ The accentuation is rhetorical rather than logical, and the Masorets have shown great taste in their pointing).

4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

Looking at the wind one does not sow, and gazing into the clouds one does not reap.

(4.)Regarding wind! not doesonesow(impersonal),and looking into clouds neither is one reaping(we must attend to the precise form of the words in this sentence in order to gather the true nature of the sarcasm hidden in it; theLXX.have clearly marked these forms in their rendering).

5 As thou knowest not whatisthe way of the spirit,norhow the bonesdo growin the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Just as thou art not one who knows the way of the spirit, how the bones are in the womb of the pregnant: just so thou knowest nothing with respect to the working of the Almighty, who is working out the whole.

(5.)As thou art not one who knows what is the way of the spirit, like thebones in the womb of the pregnant, just so, thou dost not know, with respect to the working of the Deity, Who is He that(full relative)performs with regard to the whole.(TheLXX.render the first partἐν οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν γινώσκων, ‘among whom none knows,’ taking no notice of the pronounthou. Did they read theכat the end ofאינךas beginning the following word? That the sentence is equivocal, and that this equivoke helps the general drift of the passage is not to be doubted.) The subject now returns to the previous train of argument, which directs man to do his duty in submission to the inscrutable ways of Providence.

6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether¹shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they bothshall bealike good.¹Hebrewshall be right.

6 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether¹shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they bothshall bealike good.

¹Hebrewshall be right.

In the morning sow the seed thou oughtest, and to the evening do not withhold thy hand, forTHOUcanst not tell if it shall succeed, whether this or another, or if all of it shall be alike good.

(6.)In the morning sow thy seed(withאת, ‘sow that seed which you ought to sow,’)and to the evening(note the change of preposition, it renders this passage a better introduction to what is to follow: there is a reference to the evening of life)do not withhold thy hand(compare chaptervii.18, whereאתis used with this verb, and observe the difference in meaning),for it is not thou who knowest(a repetition of this clause from the preceding verse)whether(but compare 1 Kingsxxii.24, and 1 Samuelix.18, showing that the meaning withזהis ‘what way’ or ‘how,’)succeeds(seechapterx.10and references)the this or this, or if both of them as one(ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό‘to the same,’LXX.)good(plural; sowing is no doubt taken generically as a type of human labour, performed in expectation of a future harvest, and the Preacher directs us to do our appointed work in patience, and from morning till evening,i.e.the whole day through, sure of a good result. The morning or the evening sowing will, one or other, perhaps both, succeed; the transition to what follows is quite natural).

7 ¶ Truly the lightissweet, and a pleasantthing it isfor the eyes to behold the sun:

Yes, sweet is the light, and a good to the eyes the sight of the sun;

(7.)And sweet(but the participial form ‘sweetened’ is not to be altogether overlooked; thus, ‘is sweetened’)the light, and a good to the eyes to behold(i.e.to have sight of)the sun, (for lifeisa blessing, and this is a reply to the equivocal ‘I said in my heart’ of chapteriii.18 andiv.3).

8 But if a man live many years,andrejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that comethisvanity.

yet if man lives to the very longest limit of his days, in all of them he may rejoice, and remember with respect to the days of darkness that they shall be many too: all that is coming is evanescent.

(8.)For if the years are many(that is, if his years are as long as they can be)the man(humanity generally)in all of them rejoices(but as the noun stands before the verb, it is emphatic, and in this case, as the verb is preceded byבכלם, is potential——‘may rejoice’),and remembers with regardto days of darkness(that is, forgetfulness, the days when he is forgotten, and also of sorrow or sadness, for both meanings are combined)for the many(repeating the above, with the sense, then, ‘for very many also,’)will they be, all which may come(‘every coming event’ that is, as the contracted relative shows)is vanity(evanescent).

9 ¶ Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all thesethingsGod will bring thee into judgment.

Rejoice, O choice young man, in the days of thy youth, and let thy heart do thee good in the choice days of thy youth, and walk in ways of thy heart and sights of thine eyes, and know how, on account of all these things thou shalt be summoned of the Almighty to judgment.

(9.)Rejoice, young man(butבחרhas the sense of ‘choice,’ and this is to be remembered here)in thy youth(butילדותoccurs here only; see however Psalmscx.3, which the Masorets pointיַלְדֻתֶךָ; this word is the abstract of the wordילד, which means ‘to beget;’ hence the exact meaning ofילדותwould be ‘productions’),and cause good to theeletthy heart in days of thy choosings(forבחורותalso occurs only here and chapterxii.1, and youth therefore is so designated, because it is a time of choice),and walk in ways of thy heart, and seeings of thine eyes; and know how, upon all these, thou art caused to comeofthe Deity into judgment.(TheLXX.have here the glossἄμωμος——‘in the ways of thine heartblameless;’ but the Syriac Hexaplar notes this gloss with an asterisk, so that it is clearly not entitled to any weight; it was no doubt a subsequent addition to the text, because the meaning was not seen, as indeed it cannot be, without a reference to the double meanings of the Hebrew words.)

10 Therefore remove¹sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youtharevanity.¹Or, anger.

10 Therefore remove¹sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youtharevanity.

¹Or, anger.

Put away disappointment from thine heart, and purge away mischief from thy flesh, for childhood and early expectations are evanescent.

(10.)And put away disappointment(כעס, chapteri.18, references)from thy heart, and pass away evil from thy flesh; because the producings and the dawnings(שחרותoccurs here only; for the meaning of the root see Jobvii.21, Psalmslxxviii.34, Proverbsxiii.24. So the meaning of the word here is ‘early seekings,’ which theLXX.renderad sensumbyἡ ἄνοια, ‘the ignorance;’ and the Syriac by(‡ Syriac word)(‡ Syriac word)(‡ Syriac word)(‡ Syriac word)‘because childhood and not to know’)is vanity(singular; ‘each one is so,’ as a plural precedes). That the passage is ironical we cannot doubt, but it is good advice, even the very best, as it stands. Youth is the time of choice, the time of productions, or, if one will——and theexpression will preserve an equivoke similar to that in the text——conception; but this time is evanescent. We choose our path in life when young, but then we cannot go back. He who changes his calling once rarely succeeds in it, and never if he chooses twice.

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