One generation passes away, and another generation comes;
(A)But the earth abides forever.
(B)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down,
And [a]hastens to the place where it arose.
(C)The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit.
(D)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.
All things are [b]full of labor;
Man cannot express it.
(E)The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.

(F)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.
10 Is there anything of which it may be said,
“See, this is new”?
It has already been in ancient times before us.
11 There is (G)no remembrance of former things,
Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come
By those who will come after.

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:5 Is eager for, lit. panting
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:8 wearisome

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but the earth stands forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down;
    to its place it hurries,[a] and there it rises again.
The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north;
    around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.
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.
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.
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.

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Footnotes

  1. 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”
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “are wearisome”
  3. 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
  4. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”
  5. Ecclesiastes 1:8 Or “not”