Ecclesiastes 1:4
New International Version
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

New Living Translation
Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes.

English Standard Version
A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

Berean Standard Bible
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

King James Bible
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

New King James Version
One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.

New American Standard Bible
A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

NASB 1995
A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

NASB 1977
A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

Legacy Standard Bible
A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth stands forever.

Amplified Bible
One generation goes and another generation comes, But the earth remains forever.

Christian Standard Bible
A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
A generation goes and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

American Standard Version
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
A generation goes and a generation comes, and Earth stands to eternity

Brenton Septuagint Translation
A generation goes, and a generation comes: but the earth stands for ever.

Contemporary English Version
People come, and people go, but still the world never changes.

Douay-Rheims Bible
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth standeth for ever.

English Revised Version
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; and the earth abideth for ever.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Generations come, and generations go, but the earth lasts forever.

Good News Translation
Generations come and generations go, but the world stays just the same.

International Standard Version
A generation goes, a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

JPS Tanakh 1917
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; And the earth abideth for ever.

Literal Standard Version
A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth is standing for all time.

Majority Standard Bible
Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

New American Bible
One generation departs and another generation comes, but the world forever stays.

NET Bible
A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages.

New Revised Standard Version
A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

New Heart English Bible
One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.

Webster's Bible Translation
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

World English Bible
One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.

Young's Literal Translation
A generation is going, and a generation is coming, and the earth to the age is standing.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Everything is Futile
3What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? 4Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.…

Cross References
Psalm 104:5
He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.

Psalm 119:90
Your faithfulness continues through all generations; You established the earth, and it endures.

Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.


Treasury of Scripture

One generation passes away, and another generation comes: but the earth stays for ever.

one generation

Ecclesiastes 6:12
For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?

Genesis 5:3-31
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: …

Genesis 11:20-32
And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: …

but

Psalm 102:24-28
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations…

Psalm 104:5
Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

Psalm 119:90,91
Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth…

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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














(4) Comp. Ecclesiasticus 14:19.

Verse 4. - One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh. The translation rather weakens the force of the original, which is, a generation goeth, and a generation cometh. Man is only a pilgrim on earth; he soon passes away, and his place is occupied by others. Parallelisms of this sentiment will occur to every reader. Thus Ben-Sira, "All flesh waxeth old as a garment: for the covenant from the beginning is, Thou shalt die the death. As of the green leaves on a thick tree, some fall and some grow; so is the generation of flesh and blood, one cometh to an end, and another is born. Every work rotteth and consumeth away, and the worker thereof shall go withal" (Ecclus. 14:17, etc.; comp. Job 10:21; Psalm 39:13). The famous passage in Homer, 'Iliad,' 6:146, etc., is thus rendered by Lord Derby -

"The race of man is as the race of leaves:
Of leaves, one generation by the wind
Is scattered on the earth; another soon
In spring's luxuriant verdure bursts to light.
So with our race: these flourish, those decay."
(Comp. ibid., 21:464, etc.; Horace, 'Ars Poet.,' 60.) But (and) the earth abideth forever. While the constant succession of generations of men goes on, the earth remains unchanged and immovable. If men were as permanent as is their dwelling-place, their labors might profit; but as things are, the painful contrast between the two makes itself felt. The term, "for ever," like the Greek εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, does not necessarily imply eternity, but often denotes limited or conditioned duration, as when the slave is engaged to serve his master "for ever" (Exodus 21:6), or the hills are called "everlasting" (Genesis 49:26). This verse gives one instance of growth and decay in contrast with insensate continuance. The following verses give further examples.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Generations
דּ֤וֹר (dō·wr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1755: A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwelling

come
הֹלֵךְ֙ (hō·lêḵ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

and generations
וְד֣וֹר (wə·ḏō·wr)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1755: A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwelling

go,
בָּ֔א (bā)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

but the earth
וְהָאָ֖רֶץ (wə·hā·’ā·reṣ)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

remains
עֹמָֽדֶת׃ (‘ō·mā·ḏeṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

forever.
לְעוֹלָ֥ם (lə·‘ō·w·lām)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5769: Concealed, eternity, frequentatively, always


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 1:4 One generation goes and another generation comes (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
Ecclesiastes 1:3
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