Ecclesiastes 1:7

Ecclesiastes 1:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
• New International Version (NIV)All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:7

5The 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. All rivers pour water into the sea, but the sea does not become full. The water returns to the rivers and it all happens again. 8Everything continues in the same way. There is nothing important to talk about. Nothing that we see is enough to make us happy. There are always more things that we want to hear. 9Things that are happening now will continue to happen in the future. What people have done before, other people will do again. There is nothing truly new anywhere on the earth.

Ecclesiastes 1:7 word by word

כָּל־הַנְּחָלִים֙ הֹלְכִ֣ים אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם וְהַיָּ֖ם אֵינֶ֣נּוּ מָלֵ֑א אֶל־מְק֗וֹם שֶׁ֤הַנְּחָלִים֙ הֹֽלְכִ֔ים שָׁ֛ם הֵ֥ם שָׁבִ֖ים לָלָֽכֶת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• All the riversנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: riverH5158
• runהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• into the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• not fullמָלֵאmâlê' · fullH4392
• unto the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• thither they returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• againיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:7

• Job 38:10I put a border around the sea. I locked it in its place.
• Psalms 104:6You covered the earth with deep water, like a coat. The water covered the tops of the mountains.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full - The reason is, nothing goes into it either by the; rivers or by rain, that does not come from it: and to the place whence the rivers come, whether from the sea originally by evaporation, or immediately by rain, thither they return again; for the water exhaled from the sea by evaporation is collected in the clouds, and in rain, etc., falls upon the tops of the mountains; and, filtered through their…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The place - i. e., The spring or river-head. It would seem that the ancient Hebrews regarded the clouds as the immediate feeders of the springs (Proverbs 8:28, and Psalm 104:10, Psalm 104:13). Genesis 2:6 indicates some acquaintance with the process and result of evaporation.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. 7-8The sea is never full, and we are never satisfied. This image shows how life can feel unfulfilling.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. By subterraneous cavities, and by evaporation forming rain clouds, the fountains and rivers are supplied from the sea, into which they then flow back. The connection is: Individual men are continually changing, while the succession of the race continues; just as the sun, wind, and rivers are ever shifting about, while the cycle in which they move is invariable; they return to the point whence they set out. Hence is man, as in these objects of nature…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 1:7

• Covetousness
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Sun
• Vanity
• Astronomy
• Go
• 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