Ecclesiastes 11:4

If farmers see in what direction the wind is blowing, they will know whether it is wise at that time to plant things or not. It is also true that if farmers look at the clouds and see that they are blowing from the west, which means that it will probably rain, they will not try to harvest their crops on that day.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

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

In Context

3It is always true that when clouds are full of water, they pour rain on the earth. Similarly, wherever a tree falls on the ground, that is where it will remain.

5We do not know where the wind comes from or where it goes, and we do not know how bodies are formed in women’s wombs. Similarly [SIM], God is the one who made everything, and we cannot fully understand what God does.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 11

Cross References

Proverbs 20:4If a lazy man does not plow his fields at the right/proper time, he will look for crops at harvest time, but there will be nothing there.

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 →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Ecclesiastes 11:4