Ecclesiastes 1:5
in Ecclesiastes 1The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.
KJV
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 1
Commentary
3 notes on this verse, Ecc 1:6 These verses are confused by being falsely divided. The first clause of the sixth should be joined to the fifth verse. “The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth; going to the south, and circulating to the north.”
This site's exposition
One generation passeth away
on Ecclesiastes 1:4-7
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever opens a short poem built entirely from things that move without arriving, the sun hastening to the place where it rose, the wind whirling continually about its circuits, the rivers running into a sea that is never full. Each image circles rather than progresses, which is the poem's argument stated in pictures before the Preacher states it in words: motion without profit, labor without a destination reached. The earth's own permanence against man's brief passing sets the human generations inside the same tireless cycle the sun and wind and rivers keep.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
"Panting" as the Hebrew for "hasteth"; metaphor, from a runner (Ps 19:5, "a strong man") in a "race." It applies rather to the rising sun, which seems laboriously to mount up to the meridian, than to the setting sun; the accents too favor MAURER, "And (that too, returning) to his place, where panting he riseth."
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְזָרַ֥ח | vezarach | and it rises | H2224 → | |
| הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ | hashemesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| וּבָ֣א | uva' | and it goes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ | hashamesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| וְאֶ֨ל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְקוֹמ֔וֹ | mekomo | place its | H4725 → | 401 times |
| שׁוֹאֵ֛ף | shoef | [is] panting | H7602 → | |
| זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ | zoreach | [is] rising | H2224 → | |
| ה֖וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| שָֽׁם׃ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
וְזָרַ֥חand it rises
vezarachH2224 →
הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁthe sun
hashemeshH8121 →134 times
וּבָ֣אand it goes
uva'H935 →2568 times
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁthe sun
hashameshH8121 →134 times
וְאֶ֨ל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
מְקוֹמ֔וֹplace its
mekomoH4725 →401 times
שׁוֹאֵ֛ף[is] panting
shoefH7602 →
זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ[is] rising
zoreachH2224 →
ה֖וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
שָֽׁם׃there
shamH8033 →834 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 42:1As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs after You, O God.
it leads to
- Psalms 63:1–2
O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- Psalms 143:6–7
I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land. Selah
- Psalms 119:131
I open my mouth and pant, longing for Your commandments.
- Isaiah 26:8–9
Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
- Psalms 84:1–2
How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Hosts!
- Psalms 63:1–2
Through
Habakkuk 3:11Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.
it leads to
- Psalms 144:5–6
Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
- Joshua 10:11–13
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by…
- Psalms 18:12–14
From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced— hailstones and coals of fire.
- Psalms 144:5–6
Where this verse is studied
2 studies on this verse
On Ecclesiastes 1:5
Ecclesiastes: the Study Guide
Open the study →
On Ecclesiastes 1:5
Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes
Open the study →
Also on Ecclesiastes 1: 2 studies that walk through this chapter ▾
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.