Ecclesiastes 1:4-11
English Standard Version
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but (A)the earth remains forever.
5 (B)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens[a] to the place where it rises.
6 (C)The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All (D)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;
(E)the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 (F)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.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been (G)already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no (H)remembrance of former things,[b]
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things[c] yet to be
among those who come after.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Or and returns panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or former people
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or later people
Ecclesiastes 1:4-11
Christian Standard Bible
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.(A)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets;
panting, it hurries back to the place(B)
where it rises.
6 Gusting to the south,
turning to the north,
turning, turning, goes the wind,(C)
and the wind returns in its cycles.
7 All the streams flow to the sea,
yet the sea is never full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things[a] are wearisome,
more than anyone can say.
The eye is not satisfied by seeing(D)
or the ear filled with hearing.
9 What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Can one say about anything,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed in the ages before us.
11 There is no remembrance of those who[b] came before;(E)
and of those who will come after
there will also be no remembrance
by those who follow them.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.