The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 11:1 Explained

Ecclesiastes 11:1

KJV: Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.

YLT: Send forth thy bread on the face of the waters, For in the multitude of the days thou dost find it.

Darby: Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.

ASV: Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.

Discover Ecclesiastes 11:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Ecclesiastes 11:1?

MEANING: What does Ecclesiastes 11:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 11:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Ecclesiastes 11:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Cast  thy bread  upon  the waters:  for thou shalt find  it after many  days. 

What does Ecclesiastes 11:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Casting one"s bread on the water probably refers to commercial transactions involving the transportation of commodities by ship, not to charitable acts. [1]
". . . Eastern bread has for the most part the form of cakes, and is thin (especially as is prepared hastily for guests, ... Gen. xviii6 , xix3); so that when thrown into the water, it remains on the surface (like a chip of wood, Hos. X:7), and is carried away by the stream." [2]
If you follow the advice in this verse literally, you will experience disappointment. It probably refers to buying and selling.

Context Summary

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 - Live Not For Today Alone
The casting of bread upon the waters is an allusion to the oriental custom of casting rice-grains on the fields, when they lie submerged beneath the annual inundation of such a river as the Nile. To the inexperienced eye, this would seem the prodigality of waste, but the husbandman knows full well that he will meet his seed again with abundant returns. So it is in life, whether we befriend young boys and girls, or distribute tracts, or speak kind and loving words, or invest our money in philanthropic enterprise, we are casting our bread upon the waters to find it after many days in this world or the next.
But how wise the advice not to be always considering the winds and clouds, Ecclesiastes 11:3-4. There is considerable hazard in the life of the farmer. If he waits until all the conditions are favorable, he will never begin. So with our work for God. We must risk something. Often the word spoken at an apparently untoward moment will prove to be the word in season, while that spoken under the most favorable conditions will yield no return at all. God gives it a body as, and when, and how it pleaseth Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ecclesiastes 11

1  directions for charity
7  death in life and the day of judgment
9  in the days of youth

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 11:1 mean?

Cast your bread on upon the waters for after many days you will find it
שַׁלַּ֥ח לַחְמְךָ֖ עַל־ פְּנֵ֣י הַמָּ֑יִם כִּֽי־ בְרֹ֥ב הַיָּמִ֖ים תִּמְצָאֶֽנּוּ

שַׁלַּ֥ח  Cast 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
לַחְמְךָ֖  your  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
פְּנֵ֣י  upon 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַמָּ֑יִם  the  waters 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
בְרֹ֥ב  after  many 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹב  
Sense: multitude, abundance, greatness.
הַיָּמִ֖ים  days 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
תִּמְצָאֶֽנּוּ  you  will  find  it 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.

What are the major concepts related to Ecclesiastes 11:1?

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Similar Scriptures for Ecclesiastes 11:1

Ecclesiastes 11:6 [13]
Proverbs 19:17 [12]
Matthew 10:42 [10]
Hebrews 6:10 [8]
Isaiah 32:20 [7]
Luke 14:14 [6]
Psalms 41:1-2 [6]
Galatians 6:8-10 [5]
2 Corinthians 9:6 [5]
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 [4]
Proverbs 11:24-25 [4]
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Proverbs 22:9 [3]
Matthew 10:13 [3]
Psalms 126:5-6 [3]
Proverbs 11:18 [3]
Isaiah 32:8 [3]
Matthew 25:40 [3]
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