Ecclesiastes 1:4

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

2Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity. 3What profit hath man of all his labour wherewith he laboureth under the sun? [One] generation passeth away, and [another] generation cometh, but the earth standeth for ever. 5The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth. 6The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about towards the north: it turneth about continually, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.

Ecclesiastes 1:4 word by word

דּ֤וֹר הֹלֵךְ֙ וְד֣וֹר בָּ֔א וְהָאָ֖רֶץ לְעוֹלָ֥ם עֹמָֽדֶת׃Read the interlinear

• generationדּוֹרdôr dôr · generationH1755
• earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:4

• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knoweth what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell man what shall be after him under the sun?
• Genesis 5:3And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot [a son] in his likeness, after his image, and called his name Seth.
• Genesis 11:20And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug.
• Genesis 36:9And these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, in mount Seir.
• Genesis 47:9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my sojourning are a hundred and thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they do not attain to the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their sojourning.
• Exodus 1:6And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
• Exodus 6:16And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years.
• Psalms 89:47Remember, as regards me, what life is. Wherefore hast thou created all the children of men to be vanity?
• Psalms 90:9For all our days pass away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a [passing] thought.
• Zechariah 1:5Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
• Psalms 102:24I said, My God, take me not away in the midst of my days! ...Thy years are from generation to generation.
• Psalms 104:5He laid the earth upon its foundations: it shall not be removed for ever.
• Psalms 119:90Thy faithfulness is from generation to generation: thou hast established the earth, and it standeth.
• Matthew 24:35The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.
• 2 Peter 3:10But the day of [the] Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall be dissolved, and [the] earth and the works in it shall be burnt up.

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

• Covetousness
• Earth
• Life

In the dictionaries

• Sun
• Vanity
• Abide
• Synagogue, the Great

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