Logos Bible Study

Ecclesiastes 1:7–8

The Lexham English BibleOther versions

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7All the streams flow to the sea,

but the sea is never full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they continue to flow.

8All things toil continuously;d

no one can ever finish describing this.e

The eye is neverf satisfied with seeing,

and the ear is neverg filled with hearing.

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Footnotes

  1. dOr “are wearisome”
  2. eThe MT reads “no one is able to speak.” The BHS editors suggest “no one can finish speaking.” On the basis of internal evidence, the latter is adopted in the translation, since it makes better sense in the light of the immediate context
  3. fOr “not”
  4. gOr “not”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

All streams run to the sea,

but the sea is not full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

All things are full of weariness;

a man cannot utter it;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear filled with hearing.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

All streams flow into the sea,

yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from,

there they return again.

All things are wearisome,

more than one can say.

The eye never has enough of seeing,

nor the ear its fill of hearing.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

All the streams flow to the sea,

yet the sea is never full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

All things are wearisome,

more than anyone can say.

The eye is not satisfied by seeing

or the ear filled with hearing.

NLTNew Living Translation

Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

KJV 1900King James Version

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. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.