Ecclesiastes 11:1–2 (breakdown + Hebrew)

Ecclesiastes 11:1

“Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.”

Hebrew (key phrase): שַׁלַּח לַחְמְךָ עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם

“Cast / Send” — שָׁלַח (shalach)

• Sense: to send, let go, release, dispatch.

“Bread” — לֶחֶם (leḥem)

• Meaning range: bread, food, nourishment; by extension provision/resources (what sustains life).
• Implication here: what you have to sustain yourself (your provision / fruit of labor) being released.

“Waters” — מַיִם (mayim)

• Meaning: waters (seas, rivers).
• Implication here: what is unstable / uncontrollable / uncertain (a place where immediate return is not guaranteed).

The picture / implication of “bread on the waters”

• Generosity: giving even when it looks like it’s “gone,” trusting it can return “after many days.”
• Delayed return / enterprise: sending goods out (often by water) and receiving a return later.

Ecclesiastes 11:2

“Give a portion to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what disaster may happen on earth.”

Hebrew (key phrase): תֵּן חֵלֶק לְשִׁבְעָה וְגַם לִשְׁמוֹנָה

“Give” — נָתַן (natan)

• Sense: to give, place, grant.