Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 1:11
There is no remembrance of those who came before, and those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow after.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Teacher, identified as king over Israel in Jerusalem, addresses the cyclical nature of human history immediately after noting that nothing under the sun is truly new. He observes the complete erasure of past and future generations from collective memory.
The words — The Hebrew אֵין זִכְרוֹן (ein zikhrôn) literally means “there is no remembrance,” framing the verse’s core claim about historical amnesia. The parallel structure contrasts לָרִאשֹׁנִים (la-rishônîm, “the former”) with לָאַחֲרֹנִים (la-acharônîm, “the subsequent”), emphasizing that neither group escapes oblivion.
The thread — This theme of forgotten memory recurs in Ecclesiastes 2:16, which notes no lasting remembrance of the wise or the fool, and in Psalm 9:6, where the memory of the enemy has vanished. Ecclesiastes 9:5 extends the pattern by stating the dead know nothing and that others forget their memory.
Why it lands — The text asserts that human achievement and identity ultimately vanish from collective memory, demanding acknowledgment of life’s temporal limits. It asks the reader to confront the futility of seeking permanent legacy in a world governed by cyclical forgetting.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 2:16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
- Psalms 9:6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin, and You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.
- Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, because the memory of them is forgotten.
- Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
- Isaiah 41:22 “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.