Ecclesiastes 1:9
New International Version
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

New Living Translation
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

English Standard Version
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

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

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.

New American Standard Bible
What has been, it is what will be, And what has been done, it is what will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

NASB 1995
That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

NASB 1977
That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun.

Legacy Standard Bible
That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

Amplified Bible
That which has been is that which will be [again], And that which has been done is that which will be done again. So there is nothing new under the sun.

Christian Standard Bible
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

American Standard Version
That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Whatever was, is, and what was done, that is done. and there is nothing new under the sun

Brenton Septuagint Translation
What is that which has been? the very thing which shall be: and what is that which has been done? the very thing which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Contemporary English Version
Everything that happens has happened before; nothing is new, nothing under the sun.

Douay-Rheims Bible
What is it that hath been? the same thing that shall be. What is it that hath been done? the same that shall be done.

English Revised Version
That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Whatever has happened before will happen [again]. Whatever has been done before will be done [again]. There is nothing new under the sun.

Good News Translation
What has happened before will happen again. What has been done before will be done again. There is nothing new in the whole world.

International Standard Version
Whatever has happened, will happen again; whatever has been done, will be done again. There is nothing new on earth.

JPS Tanakh 1917
That which hath been is that which shall be, And that which hath been done is that which shall be done; And there is nothing new under the sun.

Literal Standard Version
What [is] that which has been? It [is] that which is, and what [is] that which has been done? It [is] that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.

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

New American Bible
What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun!

NET Bible
What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

New Revised Standard Version
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.

New Heart English Bible
That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
That which has been is that which shall be, and that which has been done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.

Young's Literal Translation
What is that which hath been? it is that which is, and what is that which hath been done? it is that which is done, and there is not an entirely new thing under the sun.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Everything is Futile
8All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. 9What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.…

Cross References
Ecclesiastes 1:10
Is there a case where one can say, "Look, this is new"? It has already existed in the ages before us.

Ecclesiastes 2:12
Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king's successor do than what has already been accomplished?

Ecclesiastes 3:15
What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.

Ecclesiastes 6:10
Whatever exists was named long ago, and what happens to a man is foreknown; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.


Treasury of Scripture

The thing that has 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.

that hath

Ecclesiastes 3:15
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

Ecclesiastes 7:10
Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.

2 Peter 2:1
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

and there

Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Jeremiah 31:22
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

Revelation 21:1,5
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea…

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Ecclesiastes 1
1. the preacher shows that all human courses are vain
4. because the creatures are restless in their courses
9. they bring forth nothing new, and all old things are forgotten
12. and because he has found it so in the studies of wisdom














(9) No new thing.--Contrast Jeremiah 31:22; Isaiah 43:19; Isaiah 65:17. Justin Martyr (Apol. i. 57) has what looks like a reminiscence of this verse; but we cannot rely on it to prove his acquaintance with the book, the same idea being found in Grecian philosophy.

Verse 9. - The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be. The LXX. and the Vulgate render the first clauses of the two parts of the verse in both cases interrogatively, thus: "What is that which hath been? The very thing which shall be. And what is that which hath been done? The very thing which shall be done." What has been affirmed of phenomena in the material world is now affirmed of the events of man's life. They move in an analogous circle, whether they are concerned with actions or morals. Plumptre sees here an anticipation or a reproduction of the Stoic doctrine of a recurring cycle of events, such as Viral mentions in his fourth 'Eclogue' -

"Magnus ab integro saeclorum nascitur ordo," etc. But Koheleth is speaking merely from experience, and is indulging in no philosophical speculations. There is no new thing under the sun. The Vulgate transfers this clause to the next verso, which, indeed, supports the assertion. From classical authors commentators have culled examples of the same thought. Thus Tacitus, 'Annal.,' 3:55, "Nisi forte rebus cunctis inest quidam velut orbis, ut quem ad modum temporum vices, ita morum vertantur." Seneca, 'Epist.,' 24, "Nullius rei finis est, sod in orbem nexa sunt omnia; fugiunt ac sequuntur Omnia transeunt ut revertantur, nihil novi video, nihil novi facio. Fit ali-quando et hujus rei nausea." M. Aurelius, 'Medit.,' 6:37, "He that sees the present has seen all things, both that which has Been from everlasting and that which shall Be in the future. All things are of one birth and one form." Again, 7:1, "There is nothing new; all things are common and quickly over;" 12:26, "Everything that comes to pass was always so coming to pass, and will take place again." Justin Martyr, 'Apol.,' 1:57, has, perhaps, a reminiscence of this passage when he writes, Οὐ γὰρ δεοίκαμεν θάνατον τοῦ πάντως ἀποθανεῖν

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
What
מַה־ (mah-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

has been
שֶּֽׁהָיָה֙ (še·hā·yāh)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

is what
ה֣וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

will be,
שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֔ה (še·yih·yeh)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

and what
וּמַה־ (ū·mah-)
Conjunctive waw | Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

has been done
שֶׁנַּֽעֲשָׂ֔ה (šen·na·‘ă·śāh)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

will be done again;
שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂ֑ה (še·yê·‘ā·śeh)
Pronoun - relative | Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

there is nothing
וְאֵ֥ין (wə·’ên)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

new
חָדָ֖שׁ (ḥā·ḏāš)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2319: New

under
תַּ֥חַת (ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

the sun.
הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ (haš·šā·meš)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 8121: The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 1:9 That which has been is that which (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
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