A familiar Bible saying, checked in context
There is nothing new under the sun
Altered wording
Ecclesiastes 1:9 says “there is no new thing under the sun”; the familiar line changes that wording.
By @The..Mustard..Seed · Updated
Read the relevant KJV passage
Ecclesiastes 1:9The 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.
Compare the evidence
The next verse asks whether anything can truly be called new, continuing the Teacher’s rhetorical argument.
Ecclesiastes 1:10Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
The following sentence speaks about the lack of remembrance of former things, an important clue to the poem’s mood.
Ecclesiastes 1:11There 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 the context adds
Ecclesiastes 1:9 gives the underlying KJV sentence, “there is no new thing under the sun.” The familiar version rearranges its words and usually omits “thing.” In chapter 1, the Teacher speaks of generations, the sun, wind, rivers, and cycles. Verse 10 asks whether something can be called new; verse 11 brings in the fragility of memory. That is more reflective than a quick dismissal of every invention or fresh experience. The altered wording points into a larger meditation on repetition and human perception. Read the whole opening poem before deciding what the Teacher means by “new.”
A question to carry forward
Is the Teacher denying change itself, or drawing attention to the cycles and forgetfulness he has just described?
Keep reading
Read Ecclesiastes 1:4–11 and trace the examples that lead to this observation.
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