What Does Ecclesiastes 11:6 Mean in the King James?
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse speaks sowing and seed with the same Hebrew root, binding the act to what is planted even as the outcome stays hidden.
THE MEANING
Your day holds more than one beginning: seed goes out in the morning, and your hand does not come to rest in the evening. You do not know which effort will turn out well, or whether both will; the verse holds continuing work and hidden outcomes together in the present.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that you must identify the sure thing before you invest yourself: the verse says you cannot know in advance which sowing will prosper.
THE ROOT
זְרַע
zera
GROWS FROM
זרע
zara
To sow; the same root also names seed and offspring.
“sow” in this verse is zera. The verse uses this root both for the act of sowing and for “thy seed.” English separates the work from what is planted, while Hebrew lets them echo as one word-family: the act releases a beginning whose outcome remains unknown.
ALSO GROWS
zera: Seed; offspring.
זֶרַע
The seed itself carries the same root as the command to sow, joining the action to what is planted.
zorea: One who sows; a sower.
זֹרֵעַ
The sower is formed from the same root, keeping the person, the act, and the seed linguistically close.
תַּנַּח
tannach
GROWS FROM
נוח
nuach
To rest, settle, or come to rest.
“withhold” in this verse is tannach. The Hebrew phrase can be read as “do not let your hand rest.” What English calls withholding is pictured as allowing the hand to settle; the verse holds ongoing work beside outcomes that cannot be known in advance.
ALSO GROWS
menuchah: Rest; a place of rest.
מְנוּחָה
This noun makes the root’s sense of resting visible beside the verse’s image of a hand that does not settle.
Noach: Noah; his name is linked in Genesis with rest or relief.
נֹחַ
The name carries the same rest-root, echoing the contrast with the hand that is not allowed to come to rest.
יִכְשַׁר
yikhsar
GROWS FROM
כשר
kashar
To be fit, suitable, or successful; to turn out well.
The word rendered “prosper” carries the sense of proving fit or turning out well. The verse does not identify beforehand which sowing will succeed; it names that uncertainty as part of the field.
ALSO GROWS
kasher: Fit; proper; suitable.
כָּשֵׁר
This form makes clear that the root’s image of success includes something proving fit or right for its purpose.
kishron: Skill; success or advantage.
כִּשְׁרוֹן
This related noun shows the root extending toward what a person can do well and what yields a favorable result.
THE PATTERN
Sowing continues while the growth and outcome remain beyond the sower’s full knowledge.
He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.THE THREAD
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.“Seedtime” carries the same זרע (zara) root found in Ecclesiastes’ sowing and seed. Genesis places seedtime within an enduring rhythm of the earth; Ecclesiastes speaks from inside that rhythm, where sowing continues before anyone knows which seed will prove good.
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