Bible Strands
Ecclesiastes 1:9
What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Teacher addresses a general audience in the midst of a meditation on human weariness, immediately following a statement about sensory dissatisfaction and preceding a rhetorical question about novelty.
The words — The declaration hinges on הָיָה (ha.Yah), meaning it has been, and יֵעָשֶׂה (ye.'a.Seh), meaning will be done, both verbs marking completed and future action. Their parallel structure binds past events to inevitable future repetition.
The thread — This pattern appears in Ecclesiastes 3:15, which states that what exists has already been, and in Ecclesiastes 6:10, which notes that whatever exists was named long ago. The motif contrasts with Revelation 21:1, where a new heaven and earth finally appear after the first pass away.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that human experience operates within fixed cycles, leaving no room for genuine novelty under the sun. It requires the reader to stop expecting unprecedented outcomes and to examine what has already been established.
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
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.
Cross-references
- 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 it is known what man is; but he cannot contend with one stronger than he.
- Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
- 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 7:10 Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” For it is unwise of you to ask about this.
- Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
- Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land—a woman will shelter a man.”
- 2 Peter 2:1 Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
- Revelation 21:5 And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”