Ecclesiastes 1:4-11
Legacy Standard Bible
4 A generation goes and a generation comes,
But the (A)earth stands forever.
5 Also, (B)the sun rises and the sun sets;
And [a]hastening to its place it rises there again.
6 (C)Going toward the south,
Then [b]circling toward the north,
The wind goes [c]circling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns.
7 All the rivers go into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers go,
There they [d]continually go.
8 All things are wearisome;
Man is not able to speak of it.
(D)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.
9 (E)That which has been is that which will be,
And that which has been done is that which will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one might say,
“See this, it is new”?
Already it has been for ages
Which were before us.
11 There is (F)no remembrance of [e]earlier things;
And also of the [f]later things which will be,
There will be for them no remembrance
Among those who will come [g]later still.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 Lit panting
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
- Ecclesiastes 1:6 Lit turning
- Ecclesiastes 1:7 Lit turn to go
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit first, former
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter, after
- Ecclesiastes 1:11 Lit latter, after
Ecclesiastes 1:4-11
Lexham English Bible
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth stands forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down;
to its place it hurries,[a] and there it rises again.
6 The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north;
around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.
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;[b]
no one can ever finish describing this.[c]
The eye is never[d] satisfied with seeing,
and the ear is never[e] 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.
10 There is a thing of which it is said, “Look at this! This is new!”
But it already existed in ages past before us.
11 There is neither remembrance of former generations,
nor will there be remembrance of future generations.
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 The MT reads “it gasps for breath,” which is supported by LXX “to draw breath”; the BHS editors suggest “it returns again”
- 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”
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