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Ecclesiastes 11:3
Verse
Context
Cast Your Bread upon the Waters
2Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land. 3If 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. 4He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
Sermons
D.L. Moody
C.H. Spurgeon
Charles E. CowmanSummary
Commentary
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
With this verse there is not now a transition, εἰς ἄλλο γένος (as when one understands Ecc 11:1. of beneficence); the thoughts down to Ecc 11:6 move in the same track. "When the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth: and if a tree fall in the south, or in the north - the place where the tree falleth, there it lieth." Man knows not - this is the reference of the verse backwards - what misfortune, as e.g., hurricane, flood, scarcity, will come upon the earth; for all that is done follows fixed laws, and the binding together of cause and effect is removed beyond the influence of the will of man, and also in individual cases beyond his knowledge. The interpunction of 3a: אם־ימּלאוּ העבים גּשׁם (not as by v. d. Hooght, Mendelss., and elsewhere העבים, but as the Venet. 1515, 21, Michael. העבים, for immediately before the tone syllable Mahpach is changed into Mercha) appears on the first glance to be erroneous, and much rather it appears that the accentuation ought to be אם־ימלאו העבים גשם על־הארץ יריקו but on closer inspection גשׁם is rightly referred to the conditional antecedent, for "the clouds could be filled also with hail, and thus not pour down rain" (Hitz.). As in Ecc 4:10, the fut. stands in the protasis as well as in the apodosis. If A is done, then as a consequence B will be done; the old language would prefer the words והריקו ... נמלאו (כי) אם, Ewald, 355b: as often as A happens, so always happens B. יריקוּ carries (without needing an external object to be supplied), as internally transitive, its object is itself: if the clouds above fill themselves with rain, they make an emptying, i.e., they empty themselves downwards. Man cannot, if the previous condition is fixed, change the necessary consequences of it. The second conditioning clause: si ceciderit lignum ad austraum aut ad aquilonem, in quocunque loco cociderit ibi erit. Thus rightly Jerome. It might also be said: ואם־יפול עץ אם בדרום ואם בחפין, and if a tree falls, whether it be in the south or in the north; this sive ... sive would thus be a parenthetic parallel definition. Thus regarded, the protasis as it lies before us consists in itself, as the two veim in Amo 9:3, of two correlated halves: "And if a tree falls on the south side, and (or) if it fall on the north side," i.e., whether it fall on the one or on the other. The Athnach, which more correctly belongs to יריקי, sets off in an expressive way the protasis over against the apodosis; that a new clause begins with veim yippol is unmistakeable; for the contrary, there was need for a chief disjunctive to בץ. Meqom is accus. loci for bimqom, as at Est 4:3; Est 8:17. Sham is rightly not connected with the relat. clause (cf. Eze 6:13); the relation is the same as at Est 1:7. The fut. יהוּא is formed from הוה, whence Ecc 2:22, as at Neh 6:6, and in the Mishna (Aboth, vi. 1; (Note: Vid., Baer, Abodath Jisrael, p. 290.) Aboda zara, iii. 8) the part. הוה. As the jussive form יהי is formed from יהיה, so יהיה (יהוה) passes into יהוּ, which is here written יהוּא. Hitzig supposes that, according to the passage before us and Job 37:6, the word appears to have been written with א, in the sense of "to fall." Certainly הוה has the root-signification of delabi, cadere, and derives from thence the meaning of accidere, exsistere, esse (vid., under Job 37:6); in the Book of Job, however, הוה may have this meaning as an Arabism; in the usus loq. of the author of the Book of Koheleth it certainly was no longer so used. Rather it may be said that יהוּ had to be written with an א added to distinguish it from the abbreviated tetragramm, if the א, as in אבוּא, Isa 28:12, and הל, Jos 10:24, does not merely represent the long terminal vowel (cf. the German-Jewish דוא = thou, דיא = the, etc.). (Note: Otherwise Ewald, 192b: יהוּא, Aram. of הוּא (as בּוא) = הוא.) Moreover, יהוּא, as written, approaches the Mishnic inflection of the fut. of the verb הוה; the sing. there is יהא, תּהא, אהא, and the plur. יהוּ, according to which Rashi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi interpret יהוּא here also as plur.; Luzzatto, 670, hesitates, but in his Commentary he takes it as sing., as the context requires: there will it (the tree) be, or in accordance with the more lively meaning of the verb הוה: there will it find itself, there it continues to lie. As it is an invariable law of nature according to which the clouds discharge the masses of water that have become too heavy for them, so it is an unchangeable law of nature that the tree that has fallen before the axe or the tempest follows the direction in which it is impelled. Thus the future forms itself according to laws beyond the control of the human will, and man also has no certain knowledge of the future; wherefore he does well to be composed as to the worst, and to adopt prudent preventive measures regarding it. This is the reference of Ecc 11:3 looking backwards. But, on the other hand, from this incalculableness of the future-this is the reference of Ecc 11:3 looking forwards-he ought not to vie up fresh venturesome activity, much rather he ought to abstain from useless and impeding calculations and scruples.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
clouds--answering to "evil" (Ecc 11:2), meaning, When the times of evil are fully ripe, evil must come; and speculations about it beforehand, so as to prevent one sowing seed of liberality, are vain (Ecc 11:4). tree--Once the storm uproots it, it lies either northward or southward, according as it fell. So man's character is unchangeable, whether for hell or heaven, once that death overtakes him (Rev 22:11, Rev 22:14-15). Now is his time for liberality, before the evil days come (Ecc 12:1).
John Gill Bible Commentary
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, Mat 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 Rev 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 Ecc 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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
11:3 clouds . . . rains: Sometimes we can be reasonably certain of what will happen. • a tree . . . stays where it falls: Our actions sometimes yield irrevocable consequences.
Ecclesiastes 11:3
Cast Your Bread upon the Waters
2Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land. 3If 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. 4He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Reaping the Whirlwind
By D.L. Moody0RedemptionConsequences of SinPSA 1:1PRO 22:8ECC 11:3HOS 8:7ROM 6:23GAL 6:7JAS 1:15D.L. Moody shares a poignant story about a young boy from Newcastle-on-Tyne who, despite his parents' love and care, fell into a life of crime and ultimately faced dire consequences. After serving ten years in prison, he returned home only to find that his family had been shattered by his actions; his father had died of a broken heart and his mother had lost her sanity. The boy's tragic journey illustrates the devastating effects of sin and the long-term consequences of straying from the right path. Moody emphasizes that while the consequences of our actions may take time to manifest, they will ultimately come to fruition, often with overwhelming force. The sermon serves as a warning about the importance of making wise choices and the impact of our decisions on ourselves and our loved ones.
Rain Without Clouds? Never!
By C.H. Spurgeon0God's FaithfulnessBlessings in TrialsPSA 30:5PSA 126:5ECC 11:3ISA 41:10MAT 5:45ROM 8:282CO 4:172CO 12:9JAS 1:21PE 5:10C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes that while dark clouds may obscure the sun, they are essential for bringing forth rain, which symbolizes blessings that follow our troubles. He reassures us that our hardships are not without purpose, as they often lead to spiritual growth and grace. Spurgeon encourages believers to view their struggles as opportunities for God's mercy and love to manifest, reminding us that even in dark times, God is near and working for our good. He concludes with a call to rejoice in the blessings that will come after the storms, as they are part of God's divine plan.
In the Clouds
By Charles E. Cowman0PSA 23:4PSA 30:5ECC 11:3ROM 8:28JAS 1:2Charles E. Cowman preaches about finding hope and blessings in the midst of life's trials and challenges, using the analogy of clouds bringing rain to illustrate how our troubles can lead to blessings and grace. He encourages believers not to fear the dark clouds in their lives, as they are often the vehicles through which God's mercy and love are poured out. Just as rain nourishes the earth and brings forth new life, our difficulties can ultimately lead to growth and joy. Despite the darkness of our circumstances, God's presence is near, and His love and grace shine through even in the midst of our struggles.
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary
With this verse there is not now a transition, εἰς ἄλλο γένος (as when one understands Ecc 11:1. of beneficence); the thoughts down to Ecc 11:6 move in the same track. "When the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth: and if a tree fall in the south, or in the north - the place where the tree falleth, there it lieth." Man knows not - this is the reference of the verse backwards - what misfortune, as e.g., hurricane, flood, scarcity, will come upon the earth; for all that is done follows fixed laws, and the binding together of cause and effect is removed beyond the influence of the will of man, and also in individual cases beyond his knowledge. The interpunction of 3a: אם־ימּלאוּ העבים גּשׁם (not as by v. d. Hooght, Mendelss., and elsewhere העבים, but as the Venet. 1515, 21, Michael. העבים, for immediately before the tone syllable Mahpach is changed into Mercha) appears on the first glance to be erroneous, and much rather it appears that the accentuation ought to be אם־ימלאו העבים גשם על־הארץ יריקו but on closer inspection גשׁם is rightly referred to the conditional antecedent, for "the clouds could be filled also with hail, and thus not pour down rain" (Hitz.). As in Ecc 4:10, the fut. stands in the protasis as well as in the apodosis. If A is done, then as a consequence B will be done; the old language would prefer the words והריקו ... נמלאו (כי) אם, Ewald, 355b: as often as A happens, so always happens B. יריקוּ carries (without needing an external object to be supplied), as internally transitive, its object is itself: if the clouds above fill themselves with rain, they make an emptying, i.e., they empty themselves downwards. Man cannot, if the previous condition is fixed, change the necessary consequences of it. The second conditioning clause: si ceciderit lignum ad austraum aut ad aquilonem, in quocunque loco cociderit ibi erit. Thus rightly Jerome. It might also be said: ואם־יפול עץ אם בדרום ואם בחפין, and if a tree falls, whether it be in the south or in the north; this sive ... sive would thus be a parenthetic parallel definition. Thus regarded, the protasis as it lies before us consists in itself, as the two veim in Amo 9:3, of two correlated halves: "And if a tree falls on the south side, and (or) if it fall on the north side," i.e., whether it fall on the one or on the other. The Athnach, which more correctly belongs to יריקי, sets off in an expressive way the protasis over against the apodosis; that a new clause begins with veim yippol is unmistakeable; for the contrary, there was need for a chief disjunctive to בץ. Meqom is accus. loci for bimqom, as at Est 4:3; Est 8:17. Sham is rightly not connected with the relat. clause (cf. Eze 6:13); the relation is the same as at Est 1:7. The fut. יהוּא is formed from הוה, whence Ecc 2:22, as at Neh 6:6, and in the Mishna (Aboth, vi. 1; (Note: Vid., Baer, Abodath Jisrael, p. 290.) Aboda zara, iii. 8) the part. הוה. As the jussive form יהי is formed from יהיה, so יהיה (יהוה) passes into יהוּ, which is here written יהוּא. Hitzig supposes that, according to the passage before us and Job 37:6, the word appears to have been written with א, in the sense of "to fall." Certainly הוה has the root-signification of delabi, cadere, and derives from thence the meaning of accidere, exsistere, esse (vid., under Job 37:6); in the Book of Job, however, הוה may have this meaning as an Arabism; in the usus loq. of the author of the Book of Koheleth it certainly was no longer so used. Rather it may be said that יהוּ had to be written with an א added to distinguish it from the abbreviated tetragramm, if the א, as in אבוּא, Isa 28:12, and הל, Jos 10:24, does not merely represent the long terminal vowel (cf. the German-Jewish דוא = thou, דיא = the, etc.). (Note: Otherwise Ewald, 192b: יהוּא, Aram. of הוּא (as בּוא) = הוא.) Moreover, יהוּא, as written, approaches the Mishnic inflection of the fut. of the verb הוה; the sing. there is יהא, תּהא, אהא, and the plur. יהוּ, according to which Rashi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi interpret יהוּא here also as plur.; Luzzatto, 670, hesitates, but in his Commentary he takes it as sing., as the context requires: there will it (the tree) be, or in accordance with the more lively meaning of the verb הוה: there will it find itself, there it continues to lie. As it is an invariable law of nature according to which the clouds discharge the masses of water that have become too heavy for them, so it is an unchangeable law of nature that the tree that has fallen before the axe or the tempest follows the direction in which it is impelled. Thus the future forms itself according to laws beyond the control of the human will, and man also has no certain knowledge of the future; wherefore he does well to be composed as to the worst, and to adopt prudent preventive measures regarding it. This is the reference of Ecc 11:3 looking backwards. But, on the other hand, from this incalculableness of the future-this is the reference of Ecc 11:3 looking forwards-he ought not to vie up fresh venturesome activity, much rather he ought to abstain from useless and impeding calculations and scruples.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
clouds--answering to "evil" (Ecc 11:2), meaning, When the times of evil are fully ripe, evil must come; and speculations about it beforehand, so as to prevent one sowing seed of liberality, are vain (Ecc 11:4). tree--Once the storm uproots it, it lies either northward or southward, according as it fell. So man's character is unchangeable, whether for hell or heaven, once that death overtakes him (Rev 22:11, Rev 22:14-15). Now is his time for liberality, before the evil days come (Ecc 12:1).
John Gill Bible Commentary
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, Mat 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 Rev 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 Ecc 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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
11:3 clouds . . . rains: Sometimes we can be reasonably certain of what will happen. • a tree . . . stays where it falls: Our actions sometimes yield irrevocable consequences.