Ecclesiastes 1 · Verse 10

Ecclesiastes 1:10

Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

Ecclesiastes 1:10, King James Version

Ecclesiastes 1:10 in other translations

BSB	Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages 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.
YLT	There is a thing of which one saith: ‘See this, it is new!' already it hath been in the ages that 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.
BBE	Is there anything of which men say, See, this is new? It has been in the old time which was before us.
Webster	Is there any thing of which it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

What does Ecclesiastes 1:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

10. 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."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 10 Is 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

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 full comment on Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 →

Ecclesiastes 1:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

יֵ֥שׁyesh[is] there?H3426

דָּבָ֛רda.VaranythingH1697

שֶׁיֹּאמַ֥רshei.yo.Marthat anyone will sayH559

רְאֵה\־re.'eh-seeH7200

זֶ֖הzehthisH2088

חָדָ֣שׁcha.Dash[is] newH2319

ה֑וּאHu'itH1931

כְּבָר֙ke.VaralreadyH3528

הָיָ֣הha.Yahit has beenH1961

לְעֹֽלָמִ֔יםle.'o.la.Mimto ancient timesH5769

אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834

הָיָ֖הha.Yahit wasH1961

מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ\׃mi.le.fa.Ne.nufrom to before usH6440

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Ecclesiastes 1:10

Acts 7:51
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Matthew 23:30-32
And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
Luke 17:26-30
And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. …
Matthew 5:12
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
2 Timothy 3:8
Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

it hath.
Mt 5:12; 23:30-32; Lu 17:26-30; Ac 7:51; 1Th 2:14-16; 2Ti 3:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Ecclesiastes 1:9
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:10
Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Ecclesiastes 1:11
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.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 1

Ecclesiastes 1:10 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	¿Hay algo de que se pueda decir: He aquí esto es nuevo? Ya fué en los siglos que nos han precedido.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Y a-t-il une chose dont on puisse dire: Regarde ceci, c’est nouveau? – Elle a été déjà, dans les siècles qui furent avant nous.
German Elberfelder 1871	Gibt es ein Ding, von dem man sagt: Siehe, das ist neu, längst ist es gewesen in den Zeitaltern, die vor uns gewesen sind.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Nihil sub sole novum, nec valet quisquam dicere: Ecce hoc recens est: jam enim præcessit in sæculis quæ fuerunt ante nos.