the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
Updated Bible Version
Ecclesiastes 11:3
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- BakerEncyclopedias:
- TheDevotionals:
- EveryParallel Translations
If the clouds are full, they empty the rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
When the cloudes are full, they powre out raine vpon the earth. And when the tree falleth, whether it be towarde the south or north, in what place soeuer it fall, there it lieth.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty on the earth. And if the tree falls in the south, or in the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be.
There are some things you can be sure of. If clouds are full of rain, they will pour water on the earth. If a tree falls—to the south or to the north—then it will stay where it falls.
If 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 shall it be.
If the clouds be full of raine, they emptie themselues vpon 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.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon 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.
Whe the cloudes are full, they poure out rayne vpon the earth. And whe ye tre falleth, (whether it be towarde the south or north) in what place so euer it fall, there it lyeth.
When the clouds are full of water, it rains. When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls. Don't sit there watching the wind. Do your own work. Don't stare at the clouds. Get on with your life.
If 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.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.
If the clouds are full of rain, they send it down on the earth; and if a tree comes down to the south, or the north, in whatever place it comes down, there it will be.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty [themselves] upon the earth: and if the tree falleth towards the south, or towards the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.
If the clouds are full of rain, they will empty themselves on the earth, and whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, the tree will lie wherever it falls.
Rain clouds always bring rain; trees always stay wherever they fall.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth. Whether a tree falls toward the north or the south, the place where the tree falls is where it stays.
If the clouds be full, they wil powre forth raine vpon the earth: and if the tree doe fall toward the South, or toward the North, in the place that the tree falleth, there it shalbe.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall toward the south or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall be.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the eretz; And if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, In the place where the tree falls, there shall it be.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree fall in the south, or in the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.
When clouds are heavy, the rains come down. Whether a tree falls north or south, it stays where it falls.
If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth. And if a tree falls to the south or to the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
If the clouds be filled with rain, they pour it out upon the earth: and if a tree fall southward, or if it fall northward, in the place where the tree shall fall, there it shall be.
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if a tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be.
If the clouds are full, they will pour out rain upon the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie.
When clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth; whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
If the clouds be filled with a downpour, upon the earth, will they empty themselves, and, if a tree fall in the south or in the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there will it be found.
If the clouds be full, they will pour out rain upon the earth. If the tree fall to the south, or to the north, in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be.
When the clouds are full, they empty rain on the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or whether it falls to the north, the place where the tree falls—there it will be.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth, and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
If the clouds are full, they pour out rain on the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies.
If clouds are full of rain, they will shower on the earth. A tree can fall to the north or south, but it will stay where it falls.
No matter which direction a tree falls, it will lie where it fell. When the clouds are full, it rains.
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.
If cloudis ben filled, tho schulen schede out reyn on the erthe; if a tre fallith doun to the south, ether to the north, in what euer place it fallith doun, there it schal be.
If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it will lie.
If the thick clouds are full of rain, On the earth they empty [themselves]; And if a tree doth fall in the south or to the north, The place where the tree falleth, there it is.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the clouds: 1 Kings 18:45, Psalms 65:9-13, Isaiah 55:10, Isaiah 55:11, 1 John 3:17
if the tree: Matthew 3:10, Luke 13:7, Luke 16:22-26
Reciprocal: Genesis 1:6 - Let there Genesis 1:7 - above Job 36:20 - cut Job 40:12 - in Ecclesiastes 9:10 - for Malachi 3:10 - pour you out Revelation 22:11 - that is unjust
Cross-References
And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top [may reach] to heaven, and let us make us a name; or else we will be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth.
And Yahweh said, Look, they are one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withheld from them, which they purpose to do.
Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
And Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu:
Now the valley of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and those that remained fled to the mountain.
and they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in bricks, and in all manner of service in the field, all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.
And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
They encourage themselves in an evil purpose; They commune of laying snares secretly; They say, Who will see them?
If they say, Come with us, Let us lay in wait for blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
Gill's Notes on the Bible
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty [themselves] upon the earth,.... They do not retain it; sad would it be for the earth if they did; but they let it down softly and gently, in plentiful showers upon each of the parts of the earth without distinction, by which it is refreshed, and made fruitful; nor are they losers by it, for they draw up great quantities again out of the ocean, and so constantly answer the ends for which they are appointed. And so rich men, who are full of the good things of this world, should not keep them to themselves, and for their own use only; but should consider they are stewards under God, and for others, and should be like the full clouds, empty themselves; and give to those who want of what God has given them, freely and cheerfully, bountifully and plentifully, and that without respect of persons, imitating their God and Creator, who sendeth rain upon the just and the unjust, Matthew 5:45; and such in the issue are no losers, but gainers; they fill again as fast as they empty;
and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be; where the seed falls, and it grows up into a plant, and to a tree, there it continues, whether to the north or to the south; and so accordingly brings forth fruit, and such as it is men partake of it; to which purpose Jarchi, and who applies it to the disciple of a wise man, who is profitable in the place where he is, not only in life, but after death: or where the fruit of a tree fall, "there they are", so Aben Ezra reads the last clause in the plural number; that is, there are persons enough to gather the fruit; and so where a rich man is, there are poor enough about him to partake of his bounty: or as when a tree is cut down, let it fall where it will, there it abides, and is no more fruitful; so when a man is cut off by death, as he was then, so he remains; if a gracious and good man, and has done good, he is like a tree that falls to the south, he enters into the paradise of God, the joys of heaven; and if not a good man, and has not done good, he is like a tree that falls to the north, he goes into a state of darkness, misery, and distress; see Revelation 22:11; or however, be this as it will, he is no more useful in this world; and therefore it becomes men to do all the good they can in health and life, for there is none to be done in the grave where they are going: or else the sense is, that as when a tree falls, whether it be to the south or to the north, it matters not to the owner, there it lies, and is of the same advantage to him; so an act of beneficence, let it be done to what object soever, a worthy or an unworthy one, yet being done with a view to the glory of God and the good of men, it shall not lose its reward: and so this is an answer to the objection of some against giving, because they do not know whether the object proposed is deserving: though some think the same thing is intended by these metaphorical expressions, as is suggested in the latter part of Ecclesiastes 11:2, that evils or calamities may come upon men like heavy showers of rain, which wash away things; or like storms and tempests of rain, thunder and lightning, which break down trees, and cause them to fall to the north or to the south; and thus in like manner by one judgment or another men may be stripped of all their substance, and therefore it is right to make use of it while they have it.
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 11:3. If the clouds be full of rain. — Act as the clouds; when they are full they pour out their water indifferently on the field and on the desert. By giving charity indiscriminately, it may be that thou wilt often give it to the unworthy: but thou shouldst ever consider that he is an object of thy charity, who appears to be in real want; and better relieve or give to a hundred worthless persons, than pass by one who is in real distress.
Where the tree falleth, there it shall be. — Death is at no great distance; thou hast but a short time to do good. Acquire a heavenly disposition while here; for there will be no change after this life. If thou die in the love of God, and in the love of man, in that state wilt thou be found in the day of judgment. If a tree about to fall lean to the north, to the north it will fall; if to the south, it will fall to that quarter. In whatever disposition or state of soul thou diest, in that thou wilt be found in the eternal world. Death refines nothing, purifies nothing, kills no sin, helps to no glory. Let thy continual bent and inclination be to God, to holiness, to charity, to mercy, and to heaven: then, fall when thou mayest, thou wilt fall well.
