New English Translation
Ecclesiastes 1:4
4A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages.
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“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!” 3What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth? A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. 6The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.
Read all of Ecclesiastes 1Ecclesiastes 1:4 word by word
דּ֤וֹר הֹלֵךְ֙ וְד֣וֹר בָּ֔א וְהָאָ֖רֶץ לְעוֹלָ֥ם עֹמָֽדֶת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:4
- Ecclesiastes 6:12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life – during the few days of his fleeting life – for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
- Genesis 5:3When Adam had lived 130 years he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and he named him Seth.
- Genesis 11:20When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.
- Genesis 36:9This is the account of Esau, the father of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.
- Genesis 47:9Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All the years of my travels are 130. All the years of my life have been few and painful; the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.”
- Exodus 1:6and in time Joseph and his brothers and all that generation died.
- Exodus 6:16Now these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (The length of Levi’s life was 137 years.)
- Psalms 89:47Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal?
- Psalms 90:9Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.
- Zechariah 1:5“As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever?
- Psalms 102:24I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life! You endure through all generations.
- Psalms 104:5He established the earth on its foundations; it will never be upended.
- Psalms 119:90You demonstrate your faithfulness to all generations. You established the earth and it stood firm.
- 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; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it 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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