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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:10

8All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 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. 11No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. 12I, the Teacher, was 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 great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
• Matthew 23:30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
• Luke 17:26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
• Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
• 1 Thessalonians 2:14For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews
• 2 Timothy 3:8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.

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