Ecclesiastes 1:7-9
Lexham English Bible
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
but the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they continue to flow.
8 All things toil continuously;[a]
no one can ever finish describing this.[b]
The eye is never[c] satisfied with seeing,
and the ear is never[d] filled with hearing.
9 What has been—it is what will be;
what has been done—it is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “are wearisome”
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 The MT reads “no one is able to speak.” The BHS editors suggest “no one can finish speaking.” On the basis of internal evidence, the latter is adopted in the translation, since it makes better sense in the light of the immediate context
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
Ecclesiastes 1:7-9
New King James Version
7 (A)All the rivers run into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full;
To the place from which the rivers come,
There they return again.
8 All things are [a]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
(B)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (C)That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome
Ecclesiastes 1:7-9
English Standard Version
7 All (A)streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
(B)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (C)What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
