Part Two: we do an in depth study of the book itself. Chapters 11 and 12.
Part One: About the Book and Study Index.
Part Three: The Wrap.
Produced by TheMediaDesk, ©2026
Chapter Eleven
verse 1
"shalach" (send) your "lechem" (bread / food) "al" (on / upon) the "panim" (face / open) "mayim" (water) for in "rob" (abundance / great / multitude) of "yom" (days) you 'will' "matsa" (find / discover / obtain) it.
And here we have another one of those famous sayings that people think are from the Proverbs, or the Sermon on the Mount, or whatever.... no, it's buried in one of those books people never study.
But then we have to ask.... "what does it mean?" Well, it is usually interpreted as giving to others without expecting a fiscal return, or even an acknowledgment, and, eventually (in God's time), you will be blessed. There's a number of other opinions, some interesting ones are mentioned in the article linked below.
2
NOTE: Prepare for some 'Old Testament' math. No, really, it is....
"nathan" (give / 'put out' / 'send out' (in this use it implies almost 'indiscriminately spreading', like sewing grass seed in a field)) "cheleq" (share / part / portion) "sheba" (seven / seven times) and "gam" (also / even / moreover) "shemoneh" (eight), "ki" (because / for / indeed / surely) "lo" (not / never / etc) do you "yada" (know / understand) "mah" (what / when / how / etc) "hayah" (will be / become / exist / etc) "ra'" (evil / bad / harm) on the "erets" (earth / land / country).
One of the ways used to tell somebody to do 'a bit more' is to add one, or seven (or "seventy times") to the total. It doesn't mean you are supposed to give out eight CARE packages (see link below for information on the original CARE), it means you give some, then you give more, and then, even more. See Micah 5 : 5 for a discussion of shepherds, and Christ's use of the idea in Matthew 18 : 22. And you are to do so, because you never know how bad it is going to get down here in the mud.
And then we have a somewhat mystical side to the two numbers. Of course, seven, is one of the 'numbers of perfection' based on the Week of Creation. And it is used in verses like Proverbs 24 : 16 which talks about misfortune, but then, after the seventh one, you get up and go again. Which would be for number eight. Eight was a symbol of abundance, one more than seven, and a new beginning, such as from the number of people on the boat with Noah, and the usual day for the circumcision of a newborn male. And- Remember, Christ rose on the EIGHTH day of the previous week. There are more than seven, or eight, web pages from all sorts of sources about the meaning of the numbers used in the Bible. So many, and in fact, there are so many different interpretations of the meanings of several of the numbers, we didn't link to any. Beyond 'three', and 'seven', and 'twelve', nobody really agrees on very much.
3 - 4 Summary and comment:
When the 'clouds get full' it rains, and trees "naphal" (fall / cut down) in the south and in the north, are where they fall. If you stare at the wind and clouds... you'll go hungry.
And now we have a weather report, and a statement from an arborist. And then the evaluation of poor labor practices. While 'watching the wind' is something sailors do, that's not what it is talking about. Remember verse 18 of chapter 10, and elsewhere, when he goes into some detail about those who are idle? He's still on that to some degree, but he has another reason for those statements.
5
As "ayin" (nothing / there is not) "yada" (know / perceive / understand) 'the way of the wind', as the "etsem" (bone / substance / essence) form in the "beten" (womb / belly) of the woman, "kakah" (likewise / so) "lo" (nor / cannot / no) "yada" (know / perceive...) the "maaseh" (work / deeds / acts / etc) of 'Elohim who "asah" (does / makes / accomplishes...) "kol" (all / entire).
This statement underlines what, at the time, was the limits of human wisdom and understanding. Today, we know about the effect of differential heating to generate the wind and what the Earth's rotation means to the jet stream, and the developing baby has been tracked throughout the process. But there is still a lot we do not know: such as exactly what is light, and how gravity works. We know they are real, but that's the end of it.
So who are humans to understand the GOD who made them?
6 Summary: "And now an Agricultural Minute...."
Plant seeds in the morning, and in the evening don't stop, because you don't know which will do better, or will they be equal.
7 - 8
"mathoq" (sweet) is the "or" (light) and "towb" (good / pleasant / agreeable) for the "ayin" (eye / sight) "raah" (see / sight) the "shemesh" (sun / daylight). "ki" (for / because) "im" (if / whether / though) years "rabah" (increases/ many / multiplied) "chayah" (lives / alive) man in "kol" (all / entire / every) "samach" (rejoice / be glad) "zakar" (remember / call to mind) the "yom" (days) "choshek" (darkness) for "rabah" (increases/ many...) "hayah" (will be / come to pass / happen) "kol" (all / every) "bo" (to come / entering) is "hebel" (vapor / futility / vanity).
Essentially: enjoy the sunshine. If you live a long time, you'll see a lot of dark days. Everything that is coming is ... vapor.
Time Out for a relevant quote from Marcus Aurelius from his "Meditations":
"Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something, while you live and it is in your power." (book 4: 17 Link below to free, downloadable, PDF)
Time In
9 - 10
"samach" (rejoice / be glad) "bachur" (youth / young man (includes the idea of 'one that is chosen')) "yalduth" (young / childhood / in youth) and "yatab" (be good / do good / to be pleasing) your "leb" (heart / mind) in "yom" (days / 'time') of 'being' "bechurim / bechuroth" (young men / youths), and "halak" (go / walk / proceed) "derek" (way / journey / path / etc) "leb" (heart / mind) and in "mareh" (sight / vision / appearance) of your "ayin" (eyes / 'what you see') and "yada" (know / understand) that for all "elleh" (these / those things) "bo" (come / go / enter) 'Elohim to "mishpat" (judgment / justice / decision). 'therefore' "sur" (depart / remove) "ka'ac" (anger / provocation / vexation) from your "leb" (heart / mind) and "abar" (pass over / cross / go through) "ra'" (evil / wicked / bad / harmful / unpleasant) from your "basar" (flesh / 'naked body' (also implies 'male parts')), "ki" (for / because) "yalduth" (young / childhood...) and "shacharith" (dawn / youth / morning / 'prime of life' (this is the only use of this form of the word in the OT)) are "hebel" (vapor ...).
This is just some good advice from an old man, who was, for a moment, able to step back from profound level of melancholia to give it.
Enjoy being young, while you are young, remembering that GOD will judge, don't get angry, and keep yourself in the right, because life is short.
We know, we haven't used the almost obsolete word "melancholia" before to describe the speaker. And we shan't use it again until the wrap up. But the traditional, almost classical definition fits. And that is below.
end eleven
Chapter Twelve
verse 1 - 3
"zakar" (remember / call to mind / etc) your "bara'" (Creator) in the days "bechurim / bechuroth" (young man / youth), "ad" (until / while) "lo" (not) "bo" (come / entered) "yom" (days) of "ra'" (evil / bad / wicked / unpleasant / etc) "naga" (touch / reach / plague) you, you say "ayin" (nothing / none / is not) in them "chephets" (pleasure / delight / purpose). "ad" (until / while / during) "asher" (which / when / how) "lo" (not / nothing) is "chashak" (darkened / dim / obscured) the "shemesh" (sun / daylight) and the "yareach" (moon) and the "kobab" (star / stars), and "shub" (returns / come again) the "ab" (thick clouds / darkness) after "geshem" (rain).
"yom" (day) "zua" (tremble / agitated (implies: fear)) "shamar" (guards / keepers) of the "bayith" (household / temple / dwelling), and "avath" (bow / bend / stoop) men of "chayil" (strength / valor ('the army'), and "batal" (cease / be inactive / idle) 'the ones' "tachan" (grinding / crushing (implies: using a mill for grain)) "ki" (for / because) "maat" (diminished / few / reduced), and "chashak" (grow dark / be obscured / dim) those "raah" (seeing / to see) "arubbah" (windows / lattice).
The elderly speaker is continuing his advice to a young man that began at the end of our chapter eleven. And, he's doing it in a somewhat disjointed and rambling way.
He's about to continue, so we'll let him, take a deep breath, this is a long one, and then we'll look at the section as a whole.
4 - 7
And "saga" (shut / closed) "deleth" (doors /gates) "shuq" (passages / streets), and "shaphal" (is low / lower) the "qol" (sound / noise) of "tachanah" (millstone (the grinding of the hand mill)), and one "qum" (stands / rises) at the "qol" (sound / noise) of a bird and are "shachach" (brought down / to bow down (implies 'to humble')) "kol" (all / every) "bath" (daughters (includes 'small towns')) of the "shiyr" (song / singing). "gam" (also / indeed) "gaboah" (height / 'high officials' / 'the proud') they "yare'" (fear / revere / afraid) of "chathchath" (terrors / dread (this is the only use of this word in the OT)) on the "derek" (road / journey), and "naats" (blooms) the "shaqed" (almond tree) and "sabal" (carries / in labor / gravid (the old word means 'to prepare to lay eggs / give birth')) the "chagab" (locust) and "parar" (breaks / annuls / 'makes void') "abiyyonah" (caper (an aromatic seed) / 'provoking desire' (this is the only use of the word in the OT)) "ki" (for / because) "halak" (proceeding / moving / going) man to "bayith" (house / dwelling) "olam" (everlasting / eternal / forever), and "sabab" (encircle / 'go around') "shuq" (passage / street) those "saphad" (mourning / lamenting).
"ad" (until / while / as) "lo" (not / no) "rachaq" (removed / withdrawn / broken) "chebel" (cord / rope) "keseph" (silver), or "ratsats" (broken / crushed / 'cracked into pieces') "gullah" (bowl / basin) of "zahab" (gold), "shabar" (shattered / broken) the "kad" (pitcher / jar) at the "mabbua" (spring / fountain), or "ratsats" (broken / crushed / 'cracked into pieces') the "galgal" (wheel) at the "bowr" (cistern / well / pit).
And "shub" (returns / turns back) to "aphar" (dust / ashes / ground) "al" (upon / on / by) "erets" (earth / land / ground) "hayah" (to be / become / exists), and "ruach" (spirit / breath / wind) "shub" (returns / turns back) to 'Elohim (God) who "nathan" (gave / gives) it.
Extended review and comment
This section begins with the now aged speaker, or now, perhaps The Collector (which is coming up, stand by) telling young men to rejoice and live their life toward the end of the previous chapter. Beginning in our verses eight or nine, depending on how your translation broke it up. Now, let's look at what he says.
With the start of our chapter twelve, he tells the young to remember God before things turn sour and they say what the speaker has said, and implied, several times: see 4 : 2 and 3 where he envies the dead, and 6 : 3 and following, where a stillborn baby is better off than ... us.
Then the speech turns Cosmic with the darkening of the sun. He talks about what Christ will say in Matthew 24 : 29. While the statement remains that Jesus did NOT directly quote from Ecclesiastes, this is about as close as HE gets. Which is also mentioned in Joel 2 : 31, and elsewhere, then comes out for a curtain call in Revelation 6 : 12.
In the next verse we have..... never mind. Go look up Luke 17 : 35.
No, we mean it, go read it. Hang on, we have the technology, we can do this:
"There will be two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left." (RSV, from source linked below)
In our verse five he talks about 'terrors', and locusts, after the previous references that also play out in Revelation, we'll move on to the next image. Humans are all on their way into eternity, while those of us that are left, mourn.
This verse invites us to look at the meaning of the two metals listed, and the jar at the well, and a broken water wheel. So we will, after everything else, that's a welcome relief.
Silver has the significance as the bases for the various structures in the Tabernacle seen in Exodus 38. It was also the 'common' money and involved in various transactions, such as what was paid for Joseph in Genesis 37, and the Betrayal of Christ. Gold, was reserved for royalty, and the Ark of the Covenant and the various objects inside the Holy Place. And perhaps most famously, the head of the statue in the vision of Daniel 2, which also included silver. The jar at the well could be from either the Miracle at the Wedding where water from a well was turned into an adult beverage, or the famous "woman at the well" in John 4. As for the broken water wheel... we give up. It's broken and doesn't work, and the field won't get watered, which is what those were used for during the Babylonian period, some were animal powered, some were human powered.
Then the speaker references Genesis 3 : 19. And the spirit returns to God.
Earlier we quoted a speech by one of Shakespeare's most well known characters. Here's a statement that is worthy of being in that exclusive company. I looks like everything starting with the last couple of verses of the previous chapter, up to the next line, what is our verse 8, is one long, somewhat overly dramatic, speech.
And remember, this is from the same speaker that just said "fools multiply words."
And then the collector, not 'the king', says:
8
"Habel habalim 'amar haq Qowhelet, hak kol habel"
Vapor of vapors, says the Qoheleth, all is vapor.
9 - 10
and "yother" (additionally / moreover) being Qoheleth "chakam" (wise / skilled / learned) also he "lamad" (instructed / taught) "daath" (knowledge / skills) 'to' the "am" (people / nation), and "azan" (pondered / weighed) and "chaqar" (investigated / examined / searched / explored (includes the idea that you want to see the answer)) and he "taqan" (arranged / set in order) "mashal" (proverbs / discourses) many.
"baqash" (searched / to seek / request (with the intent to find)) Qoheleth "matsa" (to discover / to encounter / to obtain) "dabar" (words / matters / things / etc) "chephets" (pleasure / delight / purpose) and to "kathab" (write / inscribe / record) "yosher" (upright / integrity / straightness) "dabar" (words...) of "emeth" (truth / reliability / faithfulness).
According to verse 8 and the section we just read, "Qowhelet" (the teacher / preacher / assembler) collected this information, and taught the people, and he thought about things and arranged 'proverbs'. What he looked for was words that were delightful with a purpose, and he recorded them as truth. We'll look at this again in the wrap up.
11 - 12
The "dabar" (words...) of the "chakam" (wise / skillful / learned) are like "dorbown" (goads / cattle prod) and like "masmerah" (nails / pegs) "nata" (embedded / 'firmly' established) by the "baal" (master / owner) of the "asuppah" (gathering / collection) "nathan" (give / given / gave) a "ra'ah" (shepherd / 'flock tender') "echad" (one / single).
And "yother" ('what is left' / remnant / remainder) by these my "ben" (son / child (also can mean 'student' / 'apprentice')) "zahar" (to warn / admonish) to the "asah" (making / doing / accomplishing) of "sepher" (book / scrolls / etc) "rabah" (increase / multiply / grow) "ayin" ('there is not' / nothing / none) "qets" (end / conclusion / limit) and "lahag" ('intense mental application' / excessive devotion / KJV: study (this is the only use of this word in the OT)) "rabah" (increase / many / multiply) is "yegiah" (labor / toil / effort (with fatique)) to the "basar" (flesh / body).
Never mind the comparing of his own collection of sayings to a cattle prod or deeply seated nails. At the end of the verse is a reference to the 'one' Shepherd. And even if the collector of the sayings, or the one that had said them thought they were referring to themselves, and they may have been, but we know better. See John 10 : 11 with any questions.
Then the speaker warns 'his son', by implication, us, that there is no end to the making of books... which he just added to ... and that much study, which is what he said he had been doing, is tiresome.
13
From the updated King James Version (see link below where the 1611 original is available):
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14
"ki" (because / for) "kol" (all / every) "maaseh" (work / deed / act) 'Elohim "bo" (to come / enter) "mishpat" (judgment / decision) "al" (beside / concerning / against) "kol" (all / every) "alam" (hidden / concealed) 'thing' "im" (though / whether) "towb" (good / agreeable / etc) or "ra'" (evil / bad / wicked / etc).
This is the final statement of Ecclesiastes. That everything humans say and do will be judged by God. Everything.
End study.
Outside resources:
The Hebrew to English Interlinear https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ecclesiastes/11.htm
Revised Standard Version of the Bible https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/Revised-Standard-Version-RSV-Bible/
www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Ecclesiastes-Chapter-12/#13
A view of a verse from the Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary:
"Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters (Eccl 11:1): A Call to Bold Action" https://dbts.edu/2023/07/24/cast-your-bread-upon-the-waters-eccl-111-a-call-to-bold-action/
At the end of World War II, CARE introduced the first CARE PACKAGE for the post-war hungry, ultimately delivering 100 million parcels to families around the world.
https://www.care.org/about-us/our-history/care-package/
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius https://www.maximusveritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Marcus-Aurelius-Meditations.pdf
"melancholia: archaic severe depression characterized especially by profound sadness and despair" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/melancholia
"This electronic edition contains the masters of the second printing of A New English Translation of the Septuagint, as published by Oxford University Press in 2009, including corrections and emendations made in the second printing (2009) and corrections and emendations made in June 2014."-AND-
https://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/
Ecclesiastes: Part One: About the Book and Study Index.
Part Three: A bit of Review.
NOTE: The Bible Study Lesson presented above is posted as a reference document to begin a conversation of the topic. And that's it. Please accept it at such.
http://centralparkchurchofchrist.org
With the assistance and cooperation of The Media Desk.