Ecclesiastes 1 · Verse 11

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.
Ecclesiastes 1:11, King James Version

Ecclesiastes 1:11 in other translations

BSBThere is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
WEBThere is no memory of the former; neither shall there be any memory of the latter that are to come, among those that shall come after.
ASVThere is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.
YLTThere is not a remembrance of former generations; and also of the latter that are, there is no remembrance of them with those that are at the last.
DARBYThere is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be remembrance of things that are to come with those who shall live afterwards.
BBEThere is no memory of those who have gone before, and of those who come after there will be no memory for those who are still to come after them.
WebsterThere is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

What does Ecclesiastes 1:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
11. 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).

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 There 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! Dutens, in his Origin of the Discoveries attributed to the Moderns, has made a very clear case.

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 1:11 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.

אֵ֥ין'einthere notH369
זִכְר֖וֹןzikh.Ron[is] remembranceH2146
לָרִאשֹׁנִ֑יםla.ri.sho.Nimof the former [things]H7223
וְגַ֨םve.Gamand alsoH1571
לָאַחֲרֹנִ֜יםla.'a.cha.ro.Nimof the subsequent [things]H314
שֶׁיִּהְי֗וּshei.yih.Yuthat they will beH1961
לֹֽא\־lo'-notH3808
יִהְיֶ֤הyih.Yehit will beH1961
לָהֶם֙la.Hemof <the> them
זִכָּר֔וֹןzi.ka.RonremembranceH2146
עִ֥ם'imwithH5973
שֶׁיִּהְי֖וּshei.yih.Yuwho <they> will beH1961
לָאַחֲרֹנָֽה\׃\ \פla.'a.cha.ro.Nahto the later [time]H314

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

Cross references for Ecclesiastes 1:11

  • Ecclesiastes 2:16

    For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

  • Psalms 9:6

    O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.

  • Ecclesiastes 9:5

    For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

  • Isaiah 42:9

    Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

  • Isaiah 41:22-26

    Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. …

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
There is.
2:16; Ps 9:6; Isa 41:22-26; 42:9

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

Context

  • 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.

  • Ecclesiastes 1:12

    I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 1

Ecclesiastes 1:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		No hay memoria de lo que precedió, ni tampoco de lo que sucederá habrá memoria en los que serán después.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Il n’y a pas de souvenir des choses qui ont précédé; et de même, de celles qui seront après, il n’y en aura pas de souvenir chez ceux qui vivront plus tard.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da ist kein Andenken an die Früheren; und für die Nachfolgenden, die sein werden, für sie wird es auch kein Andenken bei denen geben, welche später sein werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Non est priorum memoria; sed nec eorum quidem quæ postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo.