Ecclesiastes 11:1
in Ecclesiastes 11Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.
KJV
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 11
Commentary
13 notes on this verse"Send your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it." He encourages to mercy since it must be given to all that seek wisdom, and work well. For just as he sows over the well-watered fields and awaits the produce of his seed, so too he who is generous to the needy does not sow the grain of his seed, but bread itself. And he waits for it to grow into his future profit; and when the day of judgement comes much more will be found to have grown than was at first sown.
This site's exposition
Cast your bread upon the waters
on Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
Cast your bread upon the waters carries two readings, sea trade, or alms given without certainty of return. Both share one shape, an act done now whose outcome lies beyond sight. Divide your portion among seven, or even eight extends the counsel to spreading what is given or risked.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, ORATION 18:20 · Written before 390.
proposed
It happens with most people that they give indeed, but they do not do so freely and readily, which is a greater and more perfect thing than the mere act of offering itself. It is far better to be generous to the unworthy for the sake of the worthy than to deprive the worthy out of fear of the unworthy. This seems to have a bearing on our duty of casting bread upon the waters, not that it may be swept away or perish in the eyes of the just examiner, but that it may come to that place where all our goods will be stored up. And [it will] be there to meet us in due time, even though we may think otherwise.
A commentator
Gregory of NeocaesareaA Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter XI · Written before 270.
proposed
Moreover, it is a righteous thing to give (to the needy) of thy bread, and of those things which are necessary for the support of man's life. For though thou seemest forthwith to waste it upon some persons, as if thou didst cast thy bread …
There, tears are indeed bread, where justice is hungered after. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be filled. Therefore, there are tears that are bread, and they strengthen the soul of man. This also agrees with that saying of Ecclesiastes: Cast your bread upon the waters; for there is the bread of heaven, where the water of grace is; for they rightly receive the substance of the Word and the nourishment of mystical understanding, by which streams of the water of life flow from the womb.
The Medieval Church2 voices
When you give, give generously, with a joyous countenance, and give more than you are asked for, since it is said: "Send forth thy morsel of bread toward the face of the poor man, and soon you will find your recompense." Do not separate the …
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Second, a remedy is given against the vanity of security arising from the failure of the retribution of justice. Cast your bread etc. He set forth above a remedy against the fact that the governance of providence seemed to fail due to the disorder of …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It must be thy bread, that which is honestly got; it is no charity, but injury, to give that which is none of our own to give; first do justly, and then love mercy. "Thy bread, which thou didst design for thyself, let the poor have a share with thee, as they had with Job, ch. xxxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Find it - It shall certainly be restored to thee, either by God or men. This is added to prevent an objection, and to quicken us to the duty enjoyned. After - The return may be slow, but it is sure, and will be so much the more plentiful.
Cast thy bread upon the waters,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The verse means: “Show hospitality, even though the corresponding return of hospitality to you may seem improbable; nevertheless, be hospitable in faith.” Compare Luk 14:13-14; Heb 13:2. Some interpreters (not unreasonably) understand by “bread” the seed from the produce of which bread is made. Seed cast upon the fertile soil flooded by the early rains would be returned to the sower in autumn with large increase.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ec 11:2 shows that charity is here inculcated. bread--bread corn. As in the Lord's prayer, all things needful for the body and soul. Solomon reverts to the sentiment (Ec 9:10). waters--image from the custom of sowing seed by casting it from boats into the overflowing waters of the Nile, or in any marshy ground.
Cast thy bread upon the waters - An allusion to the sowing of rice; which was sown upon muddy ground, or ground covered with water, and trodden in by the feet of cattle: it thus took root, and grew, and was found after many days in a plentiful harvest. Give alms to the poor, and it will be as seed sown in good ground. God will cause thee afterwards to receive it with abundant increase. The Targum understands it of giving bread to poor sailors. The Vulgate and my old Bible have the same idea. Send thi brede upon men passing waters.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Cast you your bread upon the waters. Do goodness and kindness to a person about whom your heart tells you that you will never see him again, 1 Do kindness without anticipating reciprocity from the receiver. (Sforno) Or, when giving charity, needy Torah scholars should be given priority.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שַׁלַּ֥ח | shalach | send | H7971 → | |
| לַחְמְךָ֖ | lachmekha | bread your | H3899 → | 298 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמָּ֑יִם | hamayim | the waters | H4325 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְרֹ֥ב | vero | in [the] abundance of | H7230 → | 149 times |
| הַיָּמִ֖ים | haiyamim | <the> days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| תִּמְצָאֶֽנּוּ׃ | timtzaenu | you will find it | H4672 → | 455 times |
שַׁלַּ֥חsend
shalachH7971 →
לַחְמְךָ֖bread your
lachmekhaH3899 →298 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמָּ֑יִםthe waters
hamayimH4325 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בְרֹ֥בin [the] abundance of
veroH7230 →149 times
הַיָּמִ֖ים<the> days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
תִּמְצָאֶֽנּוּ׃you will find it
timtzaenuH4672 →455 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 11:6Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:10–11
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness.
- Isaiah 55:10
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
- Haggai 1:6–11
You have planted much but harvested little. You eat but never have enough. You drink but never have your fill. You put on clothes but never get warm. You earn wages to put into…
- Hosea 10:12
Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- 2 Corinthians 9:10–11
Through
Proverbs 19:17Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
it leads to
- Hebrews 6:10
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 25:40
And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 6:10
Through
2 Corinthians 9:6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
it leads to
- Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 6:38
Where this verse is studied
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Interrogation of Job and David; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, ORATION 18:20; Gregory of Neocaesarea, A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter XI; Isaac of Nineveh, ASCETICAL HOMILIES 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.