Ecclesiastes 1:10

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing.

9 What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.

11 There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.

12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
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.
WEB
Is there a thing of which it may be said, “Behold, this is new”? It has been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
ASV
Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.
DARBY
Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already in the ages which were before us.
BLB
Is there anything of which one may say, “See this? It [is] new!” Already it has been in the ages that were from before our faces.
ÅB
Er det noe hvorom en ville si: Se, dette er nytt - så har det vært til for lenge siden, i fremfarne tider som var før oss.
OTB
Er det noe man kan si om, "Se! Dette er noe nytt"? Det har allerede eksistert i tidligere tider.
B1930
Er det noget hvorom en vilde si: Se, dette er nytt - så har det vært til for lenge siden, i fremfarne tider som var før oss.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Acts 7:51

    You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

    Read in context
  • Matthew 23:30–32

    And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

    Read in context
  • Luke 17:26–30

    Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:

    Read in context
  • Matthew 5:12

    Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

    Read in context
  • 2 Timothy 3:8

    Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.

    Read in context