Generations come and generations go,
    but the earth remains forever.(A)
The sun rises and the sun sets,
    and hurries back to where it rises.(B)
The wind blows to the south
    and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.
All streams flow into the sea,
    yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.(C)
All things are wearisome,
    more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,(D)
    nor the ear its fill of hearing.
What has been will be again,
    what has been done will be done again;(E)
    there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
    “Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
    it was here before our time.
11 No one remembers the former generations,(F)
    and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
    by those who follow them.(G)

Read full chapter

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but (A)the earth remains forever.
(B)The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
    and hastens[a] to the place where it rises.
(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.
All (D)streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they flow again.
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.
(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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 1:5 Or and returns panting
  2. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or former people
  3. Ecclesiastes 1:11 Or later people