Ecclesiastes 1:11

Ecclesiastes 1:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
• New International Version (NIV)No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.
• New King James Version (NKJV)There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after.

Context of Ecclesiastes 1:11

9History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We 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. 13I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race.

Ecclesiastes 1:11 word by word

אֵ֥ין זִכְר֖וֹן לָרִאשֹׁנִ֑ים וְגַ֨ם לָאַחֲרֹנִ֜ים שֶׁיִּהְי֗וּ לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֤ה לָהֶם֙ זִכָּר֔וֹן עִ֥ם שֶׁיִּהְי֖וּ לָאַחֲרֹנָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• no remembranceזִכָּרוֹןzikrôn · memorialH2146
• of formerרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · first: previousH7223
• that are to comeאַחֲרוֹן'achăryôn 'achărôn · lastH314

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 1:11

• Ecclesiastes 2:16For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
• Psalms 9:6The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
• Isaiah 41:22“Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen.
• Isaiah 42:9Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.”

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 1:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11There is no remembrance - I believe the general meaning to be this: Multitudes of ancient transactions have been lost, because they were not recorded; and of many that have been recorded, the records are lost. And this will be the case with many others which are yet to occur. How many persons, not much acquainted with books, have supposed that certain things were their own discoveries, which have been written or printed even long before they were born!…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11Things - Rather, men.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. 11There is no remembrance: We cannot rely on others to remember what we believe we have accomplished.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. The reason why some things are thought "new," which are not really so, is the imperfect record that exists of preceding ages among their successors. those that ... come after--that is, those that live still later than the "things, rather the persons or generations, Ec 1:4, with which this verse is connected, the six intermediate verses being merely illustrations of Ec 1:4 [Weiss], that are to come" (Ec 2:16; 9:5).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