The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 1:10 Explained

Ecclesiastes 1:10

KJV: Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

YLT: There is a thing of which one saith: 'See this, it is new!' already it hath been in the ages that were before us!

Darby: Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already in the ages which were before us.

ASV: Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Is there  [any] thing  whereof it may be said,  See,  this [is] new?  it hath been already  of old time,  which was before  us. 

What does Ecclesiastes 1:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 - The Testimony Of An Unsatisfied Soul
All is vanity! This cry finds an echo in human hearts of every age and clime. Clod meant man to be happy. "These things," said our Lord, "I have spoken to you, that your joy may be full." "The fruit of the Spirit is joy." Yet the air is laden with complaint and bitterness. Men are asking constantly, "Is life worth living?" The present age is full of unrest and weariness, of war and strife, of unsatisfied yearnings and desires. The mistake is that men seek to solve the mystery of life and to find their happiness apart from God, who has made us for Himself.
This book was written and incorporated in the Bible to show that man's quest for happiness is vain, so long as it is apart from God. Solomon had unbounded opportunities for pursuing his quest. Youth, wealth, wisdom, royalty, human love were his, but when all were mixed in the golden cup of his life, he turned from the draught unsatisfied and sad. Listen to the sigh of the sated voluptuary: Vanity of vanities! Let us turn from these bitter experiences to 1 John 2:15-17. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 1:10 mean?

Is there anything of which it may be said See this [is] new it already has been in ancient times that was before us
יֵ֥שׁ דָּבָ֛ר שֶׁיֹּאמַ֥ר רְאֵה־ זֶ֖ה ؟ חָדָ֣שׁ ה֑וּא כְּבָר֙ הָיָ֣ה לְעֹֽלָמִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ

יֵ֥שׁ  Is  there 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
דָּבָ֛ר  anything 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
שֶׁיֹּאמַ֥ר  of  which  it  may  be  said 
Parse: Pronoun, relative, Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
רְאֵה־  See 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
זֶ֖ה  this  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
؟ חָדָ֣שׁ  new 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: חָדָשׁ  
Sense: new, new thing, fresh.
כְּבָר֙  already 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כְּבָר  
Sense: already, long ago, a great while.
הָיָ֣ה  has  been 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לְעֹֽלָמִ֔ים  in  ancient  times 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
מִלְּפָנֵֽנוּ  before  us 
Parse: Preposition-m, Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, first person common plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.