Ecclesiastes 1:5

Ecclesiastes 1:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
• New International Version (NIV)The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:5

3People work very hard while they live on the earth. But in the end, what do they receive in return for their work? 4Old people die and then their children live after them. But the earth continues and it never changes. The sun rises in the morning and it disappears in the evening. Then it quickly moves to rise again the next morning. 6The wind blows to the south. Then it turns to the north. It blows in every direction. Then it starts again. 7All rivers pour water into the sea, but the sea does not become full. The water returns to the rivers and it all happens again.

Ecclesiastes 1:5 word by word

וְזָרַ֥ח הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ וּבָ֣א הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְאֶ֨ל־מְקוֹמ֔וֹ שׁוֹאֵ֛ף זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ ה֖וּא שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• also arisethזָרַחzârach · to riseH2224
• goeth downבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• and hastethשָׁאַףshâ'aph · to long forH7602
• to his placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:5

• Genesis 8:22As long as the earth continues to be here, the time for people to plant seeds will come each year. The time for harvest will come each year. Times of cold and heat will always come. Summer and winter will always come. Day and night will never stop.’
• Psalms 19:4But their message goes round all the earth. All the world can understand what they say. God has made a home for the sun in the sky.
• Psalms 89:36His descendants will always rule. His kingdom will continue to be there for ever, as long as the sun shines.
• Psalms 104:19You made the moon to tell us the months and seasons. The sun also knows the right time for sunset.
• Jeremiah 33:20‘I, the Lord, say to you, “The day and the night will always come at their proper times. I have made that agreement with them, and nobody can stop it.
• Joshua 10:13So the sun stood still and the moon stopped moving across the sky. They stayed still while the Israelites punished their enemies. People wrote about this in the Scroll of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It did not go down for about a whole day.
• Psalms 42:1God, I need you so much! I look for you, as a thirsty deer looks for streams of water.
• Habakkuk 3:11You shoot your bright arrows so that the sun and the moon stand still in the sky. Your bright spear flies like lightning, and the sun and the moon do not move!

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5, Ecclesiastes 1:6; These verses are confused by being falsely divided. The first clause of the sixth should be joined to the fifth verse. "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth; going to the south, and circulating to the north."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Hasteth … - literally, at his place panting (in his eagerness) riseth he there.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. 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. 55. (Psa 19:5, 6). "Panting" as the Hebrew for "hasteth"; metaphor, from a runner (Psa 19:5, "a strong man") in a "race." It applies rather to the rising sun, which seems laboriously to mount up to the meridian, than to the setting sun; the accents too favor Maurer, "And (that too, returning) to his place, where panting he riseth."Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:5

• Astronomy
• Covetousness
• Sun

In the dictionaries

• Sun
• Vanity
• 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