The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 1:5 Explained

Ecclesiastes 1:5

KJV: The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.

YLT: Also, the sun hath risen, and the sun hath gone in, and unto its place panting it is rising there.

Darby: The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.

ASV: The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The sun  also ariseth,  and the sun  goeth down,  and hasteth  to his place  where he arose. 

What does Ecclesiastes 1:5 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 1:5 mean?

And rises the sun and goes down the sun and to the place hastens arose it where
וְזָרַ֥ח הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ וּבָ֣א הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְאֶ֨ל־ מְקוֹמ֔וֹ שׁוֹאֵ֛ף זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ ה֖וּא שָֽׁם

וְזָרַ֥ח  And  rises 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: זָרַח  
Sense: to rise, come forth, break out, arise, rise up, shine.
הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ  the  sun 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
וּבָ֣א  and  goes  down 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ  the  sun 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ  
Sense: sun.
וְאֶ֨ל־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מְקוֹמ֔וֹ  the  place 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָקֹום  
Sense: standing place, place.
שׁוֹאֵ֛ף  hastens 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאַף 
Sense: to gasp, pant, pant after, long for, breathe heavily.
זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ  arose 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: זָרַח  
Sense: to rise, come forth, break out, arise, rise up, shine.
שָֽׁם  where 
Parse: Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.