American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 1:10
10Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
Ecclesiastes 1:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
- New International Version (NIV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Is there a thing of which it is said, "See, this is new"? It has been already in the ages before us.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.
Context of Ecclesiastes 1:10
8All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9That 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. Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 11There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after. 12I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:10 word by word
יֵ֥שׁ דָּבָ֛ר שֶׁיֹּאמַ֥ר רְאֵה־זֶ֖ה חָדָ֣שׁ ה֑וּא כְּבָר֙ הָיָ֣ה לְעֹֽלָמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:10
- Matthew 5:12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.
- Matthew 23:30and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
- Luke 17:26And as it came to pass in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
- Acts 7:51Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:14For ye, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judæa in Christ Jesus: for ye also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews;
- 2 Timothy 3:8And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the truth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Is there any thing, etc. - The original is beautiful. "Is there any thing which will say, See this! it is new?" Men may say this of their discoveries, etc.; but universal nature says, It is not new. It has been, and it will be.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-11Verses 9-11 Men's hearts and their corruptions are the same now as in former times; their desires, and pursuits, and complaints, still the same. This should take us from expecting happiness in the creature, and quicken us to seek eternal blessings. How many things and persons in Solomon's day were thought very great, yet there is no remembrance of them now!Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-11The Teacher starts by noting that every natural and historical activity has a repetitive cycle of coming and going, existing and not existing. This can cause some to feel that everything is meaningless. The Teacher quickly shifts from one topic to another and ends this section with the topic he began with, using a literary style that reflects the cycles he describes in nature and human history.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. old time--Hebrew, "ages." which was--The Hebrew plural cannot be joined to the verb singular. Therefore translate: "It hath been in the ages before; certainly it hath been before us" [Holden]. Or, as Maurer: "That which has been (done) before us (in our presence, 1Ch 16:33), has been (done) already in the old times."Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries