Ecclesiastes 1:10

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 this monotony is tiresome; no one can bear to describe it: The eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear ever content with hearing. 9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth. Is there anything about which someone can say, “Look at this! It is new!”? It was already done long ago, before our time. 11No one remembers the former events, nor will anyone remember the events that are yet to happen; they will not be remembered by the future generations. 12I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes 1:10 word by word

יֵ֥שׁ דָּבָ֛ר שֶׁיֹּאמַ֥ר רְאֵה־זֶ֖ה חָדָ֣שׁ ה֑וּא כְּבָר֙ הָיָ֣ה לְעֹֽלָמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Is thereיֵשׁyêsh · thereH3426
• thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• whereof it may be saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: behold!H7200
• newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
• it hath been alreadyכְּבָרkebâr · alreadyH3528
• of old timeעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: antiquityH5769
• which was beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:10

• Matthew 5:12Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.
• Matthew 23:30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have participated with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
• Luke 17:26Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man.
• Acts 7:51“You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors did!
• 1 Thessalonians 2:14For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews,
• 2 Timothy 3:8And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people – who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith – also oppose the truth.

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

• 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