Ecclesiastes 11:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ecclesiastes 11:6
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · adjective, masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Corinthians 9:10-11 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your ri…
Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,…
Haggai 1:6-11 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there…
Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain right…
2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
Zechariah 8:11-12 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.
John 4:36-38 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice togethe…
1 Corinthians 3:5-7 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
Solomon had often, in this book, pressed it upon rich people to take the comfort of their riches themselves; here he presses it upon them to do good to others with them and to abound in liberality to the poor, which will, another day, abound to their account. Observe,
I. How the duty itself is recommended to us, Ecc 11:1. 1. Cast thy bread upon the waters, thy bread-corn upon the low places (so some understand it), alluding to the husbandman, who goes forth, bearing precious seed, sparing bread-corn from his family for the seedness, knowing that without that he can have no harvest another year; thus the charitable man takes from his bread-corn for seed-corn, abridges himself to supply the po…
morning . . . evening--early and late; when young and when old; in sunshine and under clouds.
seed--of godly works (Hos 10:12; Co2 9:10; Gal 6:7).
prosper-- (Isa 55:10-11).
both . . . alike--Both the unpromising and the promising sowing may bear good fruit in others; certainly they shall to the faithful sower.
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 11:6
In the morning sow thy seed,.... Do all good works early and diligently, which is expressed by sowing in righteousness, Hosea 10:12; particularly alms deeds, often signified by sowing seed, Psalm 112:9, 2 Corinthians 9:6; this should be in the morning of youth, that persons may be inured to it betimes as Obadiah was; and in the morning of prosperity, as soon as ever Providence smiles on men, and puts it into the power of their hands, who should honour the Lord with the firstfruits of their increase;
and in the evening withhold not thine hand; from sowing seed, from doing good, particularly acts of charity, in the evening of old age, as Jarchi, like old Barzillai; an age in which men are apt…
"In the morning sow thy seed, and towards evening withdraw not thine hand; for thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether both together shall well succeed." The cultivation of the land is the prototype of all labour (Gen 2:15), and sowing is therefore an emblem of all activity in one's pursuit; this general meaning for ידך ... אל־ (like Ecc 7:18; synon. with ידך ... אל־, Jos 10:6, of the older language) is to be accepted. The parallel word to babokěr is not ba'ěTrěv; for the cessation from work (Jdg 19:16; Psa 104:23) must not be excluded, but incessant labour (cf. Luk 9:62) must be continued until the evening. And as Ecc 11:2 counsels that one should not make…
The Church Fathers
Let us turn now and ponder the word just as the natural philosopher has said, and let us know its power. "Sow your seed," he said, "in the morning hour and do not cease in the evening hour." And I say according to my dull mind, "The morning hour is the young childhood of man, and the evening hour is old age." For infancy is in need of teaching and instruction for everyone so that they escape sin. Likewise moreover, he will continue to remember the sin into which he has fallen in the morning hour, which is his childhood, and he will not set his heart on his own teaching but will be first to the church, the school for little and great, and he will listen to the Scriptures inspired by God, that he might not be unmindful or fall but become new again through repentance. The word extends to us, too, we who are called "bishop" and "presbyter" and "teacher," that we might continue to abide in the word of teaching every day from morning until evening every day, just as it is written, "Speak [and] do not be silent." I am speaking with you, he said, personally, so that you will not be ashamed. I will sow in you the Word of God, the seed of truth and life from the morning hour to the evening hour.
"In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening withhold not your hand: for you know not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man lives many years, and rejoices in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that which comes is vanity. "Do not choose which good deeds you do, but once you have started doing good, never stop. The evening will reveal the justice of the morning, and the sunrise will collect the mercy of the evening. For it is uncertain which work pleases God more, and by what means you will obtain the fruit of righteousness. But it can happen that not one but each one will please God. Another meaning could be that both in childhood and in old-age you will have equal work. Do not say therefore, "I worked while I was able, I ought to rest in old-age", for you do not know whether you please God more in youth or in age. And the thrift of youth too is of no use if old-age is taken up by indulgence. For the righteous has erred, not even his former virtues can free him from death. And if you always do well according to each interpretation and work equal amounts in each age, you will see God the Father, the sweetest light; you will see Christ, the sun of righteousness. More precisely if you live for many years and always have good things or do good deeds, you will still know that you are going to die, and the coming of darkness will continually surround you: you will despise the present things as if they were transient, frail and failing. Symmachus has interpreted the end of this idea in this way: if a man lives for many years and if he has been happy in all this he ought to remember the days of darkness, since they will be many, in which all will cease. Differently: in another place in the Scripture God promises, saying, "I will give you timely rain and rain that is late" [Deut. 11, 14.]. I will irrigate you with rain: the Old and the New Testament. He warns about this here so that we may read about the ancient law, lest we hate the Gospel, and in this way ask about the spiritual understanding in the old text; lest we think that what we read in the Gospels and apostles is only to be taken at face value. For we do not know when more knowledge and grace is divested to us by…
Agriculture Or Husbandry · Requires: Diligence — Requires: Diligence
Economics · HOUSEHOLD — HOUSEHOLD
Industry · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Morning · The Jews: Transacted business in — The Jews: Transacted business in
Seed · Il — Il
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The activity of God is often unpredictable and mysterious. Our job is to work when we have the opportunity to do so (see Prov 12:11; 24:27).
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 11:6
Therefore in the morning sow your seed, etc. If17See Maseches Yevamos 62a. your learned Torah in your youth, learn Torah in your old age.18Sow your field at all times and do not wait for the wind, “for you do not know which will prosper, and therefore if you learned etc.” (Metsudas Dovid) If you had students in your youth, you should have students in your old age. If you married a childbearing woman in your youth, you should marry a childbearing woman in your old age. If you performed charitable acts in your youth, perform charitable acts in your old age.
For you do not know which will prosper. Whether the students and children of your youth will survive you, or perhaps only those of your o…
