Ecclesiastes 11:4

Amplified Bible

He who watches the wind [waiting for all conditions to be perfect] will not sow [seed], and he who looks at the clouds will not reap [a harvest].

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
One who watches the wind will not sow,and the one who looks at the clouds will not reap.

Hebrew Names Version
He who observes the wind won't sow; And he who regards the clouds won't reap.

King James Version
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

English Standard Version
He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

New American Standard Bible
One who watches the wind will not sow and one who looks at the clouds will not harvest.

New Century Version
Those who wait for perfect weather will never plant seeds; those who look at every cloud will never harvest crops.

World English Bible
He who observes the wind won't sow; And he who regards the clouds won't reap.

Geneva Bible (1587)
He that obserueth ye winde, shall not sow, and he that regardeth the cloudes, shall not reape.

Legacy Standard Bible
He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

Berean Standard Bible
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.

Contemporary English Version
If you worry about the weather and don't plant seeds, you won't harvest a crop.

Complete Jewish Bible
He who keeps watching the wind will never sow; he who keeps looking at the clouds will never reap.

Darby Translation
He that observeth the wind will not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds will not reap.

Easy-to-Read Version
But there are some things that you cannot be sure of. You must take a chance. If you wait for perfect weather, you will never plant your seeds. If you are afraid that every cloud will bring rain, you will never harvest your crops.

George Lamsa Translation
He who observes the wind shall not sow; and he who regards the clouds shall not reap.

Good News Translation
If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.

Lexham English Bible
Whoever watches the wind will not sow; whoever watches the clouds will not reap.

Literal Translation
He who watches the wind shall not sow. And he who looks at the clouds shall not reap.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He that regardeth ye wynde, shal not sowe: and he that hath respecte vnto the cloudes, shal not reape.

American Standard Version
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

Bible in Basic English
He who is watching the wind will not get the seed planted, and he who is looking at the clouds will not get in the grain.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

King James Version (1611)
He that obserueth the wind, shall not sow: and hee that regardeth the clouds, shall not reape.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
He that regardeth the winde, shall not sowe: and he that hath respect vnto the cloudes, shall not reape.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He that observes the wind sows not; and he that looks at the clouds will not reap.

English Revised Version
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
He that aspieth the wynd, sowith not; and he that biholdith the cloudis, schal neuere repe.

Update Bible Version
He that observes the wind shall not sow; and he that regards the clouds shall not reap.

Webster's Bible Translation
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

New English Translation
He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap.

New King James Version
He who observes the wind will not sow, And he who regards the clouds will not reap.

New Living Translation
Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.

New Life Bible
He who watches the wind will not plant his seeds. And he who looks at the clouds will not gather the food.

New Revised Standard
Whoever observes the wind will not sow; and whoever regards the clouds will not reap.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
He that observeth the wind, will not sow, - and, he that watcheth the clouds, will not reap.

Douay-Rheims Bible
He that observeth the wind, shall not sow: and he that considereth the clouds, shall never reap.

Revised Standard Version
He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Young's Literal Translation
Whoso is observing the wind soweth not, And whoso is looking on the thick clouds reapeth not.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.

Contextual Overview

¹Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, [be diligently active, make thoughtful decisions], for you will find it after many days. ²Give a portion to seven, or even [divide it] to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. ³If the clouds are full [of rain], they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it lies. ⁴He who watches the wind [waiting for all conditions to be perfect] will not sow [seed], and he who looks at the clouds will not reap [a harvest].⁵Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. ⁶Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle with your hands in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening planting will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 3:27, Proverbs 20:4, Proverbs 22:13

Reciprocal: Haggai 1:2 - This Mark 4:26 - as John 3:8 - wind

Cross-References

Genesis 6:4
There were Nephilim (men of stature, notorious men) on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God lived with the daughters of men, and they gave birth to their children. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (great reputation, fame).

Genesis 11:8
So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the surface of the entire earth; and they stopped building the city.

Genesis 11:9
Therefore the name of the city was Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the entire earth; and from that place the LORD scattered and dispersed them over the surface of all the earth.

Genesis 11:11
And Shem lived five hundred years after Arpachshad was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 11:13
Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after Shelah was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

Deuteronomy 1:28
'Where can we go up? Our brothers (spies) have made our hearts melt [in fear] and demoralized us by saying, "The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large, and fortified [all the way up] to heaven. And besides, we saw the [giant-like] sons of the Anakim there."'

Deuteronomy 4:27
"The LORD will scatter and disperse you among the peoples (pagan nations), and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you.

Deuteronomy 9:1
"Hear, O Israel! You are crossing the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and more powerful than you, great cities fortified to heaven,

2 Samuel 8:13
So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans (Syrians) in the Valley of Salt.

Psalms 92:9
For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do evil will be scattered.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He that observeth the wind shall not sow,.... Who before he sows his seed is careful to observe where the wind is, from what corner it blows, and forbears sowing until it is down or changes, lest it should be troublesome unto him in sowing, or blow away his seed, and waits for a better season; such a man may lose his seedtime and never sow at all, and his grain in his barn may be devoured by vermin, or be destroyed by one accident or another, and so he may lose both his seed and his crop;

and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap; which are uncertain signs of weather; and if a man gives heed to them, and puts off his sowing from time to time, for the sake of better weather, as he may never sow, so it is impossible that he should reap; and if he sows, and when his grain is ripe and forbears to reap because of the clouds, lest his grain should be wet, may never reap at all: and so it is with respect to liberality; if a man will raise difficulties, and make objections, and attend unto them; if he puts off giving till such an affliction is removed from him and his family, or that is grown up; or such an estate is obtained, or he has got to such an amount of riches, or till more proper and deserving objects present, with twenty things more of the like kind; if he defers giving on such accounts, or through fear of want, which may possess his mind for various reasons, he may never give nor get, yea, never do any good work; for, if nothing is done till all difficulties are removed, no good thing will ever be done.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

“Unforeseen events come from God; and the man who is always gazing on the uncertain future will neither begin nor complete any useful work: but do thou bear in mind that times and circumstances, the powers of nature and the results to which they minister, are in the hand of God; and be both diligent and trustful.” The images are connected chiefly with the occupation of an agricultural laborer: the discharge of rain from the cloud, and the inclination of the falling tree, and the direction of the wind, are beyond his control, though the result of his work is affected by them. The common application of the image of the fallen tree to the state of departed souls was probably not in the mind of the inspired writer.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

Spirit - The same Hebrew word (like πνεῦμα pneuma in Greek and “Spirit” in English) signifies both the wind Ecclesiastes 11:4 and the Spirit (compare marginal reference). The Old Testament in many places recognizes the special operation of God Job 10:8-12; Psalms 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5, and distinctly of the Spirit of God Job 31:15 in the origination of every child. Compare Genesis 2:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 11:4. He that observeth the wind shall not sow — The man that is too scrupulous is never likely to succeed in any thing. If a man neither plough nor sow till the weather is entirely to his mind, the season will in all probability pass before he will have done any thing: so, if thou be too nice in endeavouring to find out who are the impostors among those who profess to be in want, the real object may perish, whom otherwise thou mightest have relieved, and whose life might have been thereby saved. Those very punctilious and scrupulous people, who will sift every thing to the bottom in every case, and, before they will act, must be fully satisfied on all points, seldom do any good, and are themselves generally good for nothing. While they are observing the clouds and the rain, others have joined hands with God, and made a poor man live.