Ecclesiastes 11:4

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

Ecclesiastes 11:4, King James Version

Ecclesiastes 11:4 in other translations

BSB	He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
WEB	He who observes the wind won’t sow; and he who regards the clouds won’t reap.
ASV	He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
YLT	Whoso is observing the wind soweth not, And whoso is looking on the thick clouds reapeth not.
DARBY	He that observeth the wind will not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds will not reap.
BBE	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.
Webster	He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

What does Ecclesiastes 11:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

4. Therefore sow thy charity in faith, without hesitancy or speculation as to results, because they may not seem promising (Ec 9:10). So in Ec 11:1, man is told to "cast his bread corn" on the seemingly unpromising "waters" (Psa 126:5, 6). The farmer would get on badly, who, instead of sowing and reaping, spent his time in watching the wind and clouds.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 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 endeavoring 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Exhortation to liberality. (Eccl. 11:1-6) An admonition to prepare for death, and to young persons to be religious. (Eccl. 11:7-10) Verses 1-6 Solomon presses the rich to do good to others. Give freely, though it may seem thrown away and lost. Give to many. Excuse not thyself with the good thou hast done, from the good thou hast further to do. It is not lost, but well laid out. We have reason to expect evil, for we…

Read the full comment on Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 →

Ecclesiastes 11:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

שֹׁמֵ֥רsho.Mer[one who] watches forH8104

ר֖וּחַRu.acha windH7307

לֹ֣אlo'notH3808

יִזְרָ֑עyiz.Ra'he will sowH2232

וְרֹאֶ֥הve.ro.'Ehand [one who] looksH7200

בֶעָבִ֖יםve.'a.Vimon the cloudsH5645

לֹ֥אlo'notH3808

יִקְצֽוֹר\׃yik.Tzorhe will reapH7114

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ecclesiastes 11:4

Proverbs 20:4
The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
Proverbs 3:27
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Proverbs 22:13
The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Pr 3:27; 20:4; 22:13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Ecclesiastes 11:3
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.
Ecclesiastes 11:4
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Ecclesiastes 11:5
As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 11

Ecclesiastes 11:4 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	El que al viento mira, no sembrará; y el que mira á las nubes, no segará.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Celui qui observe le vent ne sèmera pas; et celui qui regarde les nuées ne moissonnera pas.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wer auf den Wind achtet, wird nicht säen, und wer auf die Wolken sieht, wird nicht ernten. -
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Qui observat ventum non seminat; et qui considerat nubes numquam metet.