Ecclesiastes 11:2
Give a portion to seven, yea, even to eight, for thou know not what evil shall be upon the earth.
A Conservative Version
In The King James Version
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
In Context
1Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shall find it after many days.
Cross References
1 Samuel 25:8Ask thy young men, and they will tell thee. Therefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes, for we come in a good day. Give, I pray thee, whatever comes to thy hand to thy servants, and to thy son David.
Esther 9:19Therefore the Jews of the villages, who dwell in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar [a day of] gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.
Job 5:19He will deliver thee in six troubles. Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
Proverbs 6:16There are six things which LORD hates, yea, seven which are an abomination to him:
Micah 5:5And this [man] shall be [our] peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then we shall raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
Matthew 18:22Jesus says to him, I say to thee, not until seven times, but until seventy times seven.
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 11:2-7
The Obligations to Be Liberal; Answers to Objections against Liberality. 1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. 2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. 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. 4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall… Read the whole commentary →