New King James Version
Ecclesiastes 1:4
4One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.
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 Living Translation (NLT)Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.
Context of Ecclesiastes 1:4
2“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” 3What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. 5The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. 6The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.
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 who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
- Genesis 5:3And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
- Genesis 11:20Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug.
- Genesis 36:9And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.
- Genesis 47:9And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”
- Exodus 1:6And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation.
- Exodus 6:16These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven.
- Psalms 89:47Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?
- Psalms 90:9For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; We finish our years like a sigh.
- Zechariah 1:5“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
- Psalms 102:24I said, “O my God, Do not take me away in the midst of my days; Your years are throughout all generations.
- Psalms 104:5You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever,
- Psalms 119:90Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
- 2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries