Ecclesiastes 1:6
in Ecclesiastes 1The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
KJV
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
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This verse in Ecclesiastes 1
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north,.... The word "wind" is not in this clause in the original text, but is taken from the next, and so may be rendered, "it goeth towards the south", &c. that is, the sun (x) before mentioned, which as to its diurnal and nocturnal course in the daytime goes towards the south, and in the night towards the north; and as to its annual course before the winter solstice it goes to the south, and before the summer solstice to the north, as interpreters observe.
This site's exposition
Generations come and generations go
on Ecclesiastes 1:4-7
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever opens a short poem built from things that move without arriving. The sun hurries back to where it rises, the wind turns round, and the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.
This site's exposition
The wind blows southward
Gill observes that the word wind stands only in the second half of the verse, so the first words may speak of the sun. Barnes keeps the wind in view from the start, round and round on its course. Either reading ends in the same round.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
And Solomon says: The sun ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place. Arising he goeth there towards the south and wheeleth round in his circuit, and the wind goeth on its circuits. He also, in what he says, agrees with Moses …
By the blessed Solomon then, when in the book of Ecclesiastes, a book attested [to be inspired], and not rejected [from the canon] he says: The sun ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place; arising there he goeth to the south, …
"It goes to the South and rotates to the North; turning, revolving, the wind goes and returns upon its circuits." From this we are able to believe that the sun approaches the meridian quarter in the time of winter, and in the summer is near to the Great Bear, and does not commence its movements in the equinox of autumn, but when the west wind is blowing in the time of spring, when all things give birth.
According to the narrative he calls the sun wind, due to the speed of its movement.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Ecclesiastes shows these four when he says: "The sun riseth, and goeth down, and returneth to his place: and there rising again, maketh his round by the south, and turneth again to the north." Marvelous was the origin: how the supersubstantial radiation was united to …
4 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
Here is touched upon the mutability in elemental nature, and first with respect to air. With respect to air, he touches upon the mutability in spirit or in wind, which is either the motion of air according to some philosophers, or according to Aristotle the …
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
“The wind is continually whirling about, and the wind returneth upon its whirlings.” It is plain, from the clause which I have restored to the fifth verse, that the author refers to the approximations of the sun to the northern and southern tropics, viz., of Cancer and Capricorn. All the versions agree in applying the first clause of the sixth verse to the sun, and not to the wind. Our version alone has mistaken the meaning. My old MS.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
according to his circuits--that is, it returns afresh to its former circuits, however many be its previous veerings about. The north and south winds are the two prevailing winds in Palestine and Egypt.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
More literally, Going toward the south and veering toward the north, veering, veering goes the wind; and to its veerings the wind returns.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הוֹלֵךְ֙ | holekh | [it is] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּר֔וֹם | darom | [the] south | H1864 → | |
| וְסוֹבֵ֖ב | vesovev | and [it is] circling | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| צָפ֑וֹן | tzafon | [the] north | H6828 → | |
| סוֹבֵ֤ב׀ | sovev | circling around | H5437 → | 161 times |
| סֹבֵב֙ | sovev | circling around | H5437 → | 161 times |
| הוֹלֵ֣ךְ | holekh | [is] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הָר֔וּחַ | haruach | the wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| סְבִיבֹתָ֖יו | sevivotav | circuits its | H5439 → | |
| שָׁ֥ב | shav | [is] returning | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| הָרֽוּחַ׃ | haruach | the wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
הוֹלֵךְ֙[it is] going
holekhH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
דָּר֔וֹם[the] south
daromH1864 →
וְסוֹבֵ֖בand [it is] circling
vesovevH5437 →161 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
צָפ֑וֹן[the] north
tzafonH6828 →
סוֹבֵ֤ב׀circling around
sovevH5437 →161 times
סֹבֵב֙circling around
sovevH5437 →161 times
הוֹלֵ֣ךְ[is] going
holekhH1980 →1546 times
הָר֔וּחַthe wind
haruachH7307 →378 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
סְבִיבֹתָ֖יוcircuits its
sevivotavH5439 →
שָׁ֥ב[is] returning
shavH7725 →1056 times
הָרֽוּחַ׃the wind
haruachH7307 →378 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
John 3:8The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 11:4–5
He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
- 1 Corinthians 2:11
For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
- Acts 2:2
Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
- Ezekiel 37:9
Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and tell the breath that this is what the Lord GOD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe…
- 1 John 2:29
If you know that He is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him.
- Ecclesiastes 11:4–5
Through
Ecclesiastes 11:5As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
it leads to
- John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
- Psalms 92:5
How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts!
- John 3:8
Through
Psalms 107:29He calmed the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
it leads to
- Matthew 8:26
“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.
- Matthew 8:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23; Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Ecclesiastes; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 9; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Olympiodorus of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES 1:6.