Ecclesiastes 1:9 BSB

Ecclesiastes 1:9

What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

KJV

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

⋯

Commentary

2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

The thing that hath been - Every thing in the whole economy of nature has its revolutions; summer and winter, heat and cold, rain and drought, seedtime and autumn, with the whole system of corruption and generation, alternately succeed each other, so that whatever has been shall be again. There is really, physically, and philosophically, nothing absolutely new under the sun, in the course of sublunary things. The same is the case in all the revolutions of the heavens.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Rather, "no new thing at all"; as in Nu 11:6. This is not meant in a general sense; but there is no new source of happiness (the subject in question) which can be devised; the same round of petty pleasures, cares, business, study, wars, &c., being repeated over and over again [HOLDEN].

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

13 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
מַה־	mah-	whatever	H4100 →
שֶּֽׁהָיָה֙	she.ha.Yah	<that> it has been	H1961 →
ה֣וּא	hu'	it	H1931 →
שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֔ה	shei.yih.Yeh	[is] which <it> will be	H1961 →
וּמַה־	u.mah-	and whatever	H4100 →
שֶׁנַּֽעֲשָׂ֔ה	she.na.'a.Sah	which <it> has been done	H6213 →
ה֖וּא	hu'	it	H1931 →
שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂ֑ה	shei.ye.'a.Seh	[is] which <it> will be done	H6213 →
וְאֵ֥ין	ve.'Ein	and there not	H369 →
כָּל־	kol-	[is] any	H3605 →
חָדָ֖שׁ	cha.Dash	new [thing]	H2319 →
תַּ֥חַת	Ta.chat	under	H8478 →
הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃	ha.Sha.mesh	the sun	H8121 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H8121hashameshthe sun134×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Revelation 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
leads to
- Isaiah 65:17–19
  For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
- 2 Peter 3:13
  But in keeping with God’s promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
- Isaiah 66:22
  “For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will endure before Me,” declares the LORD, “so your descendants and your name will endure.
- Revelation 21:5
  And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
- 2 Peter 3:10
  But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid…
Through
Ecclesiastes 3:15
What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
leads to
- Ecclesiastes 1:9–10
  What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Ecclesiastes 6:10
  Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
Through
Ecclesiastes 6:10
Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
leads to
- Job 9:32
  For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

Featured studies on this passage

On Ecclesiastes 1:9

Ecclesiastes: the Study Guide

Open the study →

On Ecclesiastes 1:9

Vanity Under the Sun — Ecclesiastes

Open the study →

Walks through Ecclesiastes 1

Wisdom and the Poets

Open the study →

Walks through Ecclesiastes 1

Bookends: How Scripture Frames Itself

Open the study →

About Ecclesiastes

King Solomon in Old Age — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Ecclesiastes: the study guide →Read chapter 1 →The featured study →

Continue: Ecclesiastes 1 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Ecclesiastes

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Ecclesiastes