Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 11:4
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses readers considering agricultural labor, contrasting natural observation with the necessity of timely action. The immediate context frames human limitation against divine sovereignty over weather and life.
The words — שֹׁמֵ֥ר (sho.Mer) literally means one who watches for, while יִזְרָ֑ע (yiz.Ra') denotes he will sow. The text places these terms in direct opposition to show that perpetual observation prevents cultivation.
The thread — This warning echoes Proverbs 20:4, where a slacker looks at harvest time but finds nothing, and Proverbs 22:13, which cites the slacker’s fabricated fears as excuses for inaction. Both passages link agricultural delay to a refusal to work.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate action despite uncertain conditions, treating observation as a substitute for work rather than its prerequisite. It asks the reader to sow and reap before the desired moment arrives, rejecting paralysis disguised as prudence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 20:4 The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
- Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from the deserving when it is within your power to act.
- Proverbs 22:13 The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”