Keraia
Ecclesiastes 1

Ecclesiastes 1:7

Everything Is Futile · Ecclesiastes 1:1–11
Read Ecclesiastes 1

Translations

Modern
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
Traditional
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Literal
All the rivers are going to the sea, and the sea it has no filling; to the place from which the rivers come, there they are turning back to go.
Latin
Omnia flumina intrant in mare, et mare non redundat; ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant.

Original

Hebrew
English
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.

Notes

Ecclesiastes 1:7–8

The sea is never full, and we are never satisfied. This image shows how life can feel unfulfilling.

Ecclesiastes 1:2–11

The Teacher starts by noting that every natural and historical activity has a repetitive cycle of coming and going, existing and not existing. This can cause some to feel that everything is meaningless. The Teacher quickly shifts from one topic to another and ends this section with the topic he began with, using a literary style that reflects the cycles he describes in nature and human history.

Glossary

Book of Ecclesiastes Futility

Topics

Covetousness: General Scriptures Concerning Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena: General Scriptures Concerning Rivers: Run Into the Sea The Ocean The Sea: Replenished by Rivers The Sea: Rivers Supplied by Exhalations From Water: Rises in Vapour to the Clouds