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

8Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. 9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. 12I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived 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 5:12Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
• Matthew 23:30Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’
• Luke 17:26“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
• Acts 7:51“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!
• 1 Thessalonians 2:14And then, dear brothers and sisters, you suffered persecution from your own countrymen. In this way, you imitated the believers in God’s churches in Judea who, because of their belief in Christ Jesus, suffered from their own people, the Jews.
• 2 Timothy 3:8These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.

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