Berean Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 1:4
4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
- New International Version (NIV)Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.
- English Standard Version (ESV)A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.
- New King James Version (NKJV)One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.
Context of Ecclesiastes 1:4
2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” 3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. 6The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:4 word by word
דּ֤וֹר הֹלֵךְ֙ וְד֣וֹר בָּ֔א וְהָאָ֖רֶץ לְעוֹלָ֥ם עֹמָֽדֶת׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:4
- Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
- Genesis 5:3When Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.
- Genesis 11:20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.
- Genesis 36:9This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the area of Mount Seir.
- Genesis 47:9“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”
- Exodus 1:6Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died,
- Exodus 6:16These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
- Psalms 89:47Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!
- Psalms 90:9For all our days decline in Your fury; we finish our years with a sigh.
- Zechariah 1:5Where are your fathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?
- Psalms 102:24I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations.
- Psalms 104:5He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.
- Psalms 119:90Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures.
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- 2 Peter 3:10But 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 bare.
Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4One generation passeth away - Men succeed each other in unceasing generations: but the earth is still the same; it undergoes no change that leads to melioration, or greater perfection. And it will continue the same לעולם leolam, during the whole course of time; till the end of all things arrives.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Vanity is shown in mankind, the elements, and all that moves on earth; the same course is repeated again and again without any permanent result or real progress; and events and people alike are forgotten. Abideth - The apparent permanence of the earth increases by contrast the transitory condition of its inhabitants. Ever - The word does not here absolutely signify “eternity” (compare Ecclesiastes 3:11 note), but a certainly short period (compare Exodus…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-8Verses 4-8 All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Generations come and go, and individual lives often seem to pass without importance.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. earth ... for ever--(Psa 104:5). While the earth remains the same, the generations of men are ever changing; what lasting profit, then, can there be from the toils of one whose sojourn on earth, as an individual, is so brief? The "for ever" is comparative, not absolute (Psa 102:26).Read the comment
Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:4
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
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