Ecclesiastes 3:15

Old Testament Wisdom/Poetry ASV (1901)

What does Ecclesiastes 3:15 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.
Ecclesiastes 3:15 — American Standard Version

Context — Ecclesiastes 3

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
15That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“That which hath seen is now; and that which is to be hath already been, etc.] That which has been from the beginning now is; that which cometh, and what shall be in the end of days, has been already, as the Targum. Jarchi interprets this of God and his attributes, which are always the same; he is the “I am that I am”, (<020314>Exodus 3:14); the immutable and eternal Jehovah, which is, and was, and is to come, invariably the same. Or rather it designs his decrees and purposes; what has been decreed in his eternal mind is now accomplished; and what is future has been already in his decrees; nor does anything come to pass but what he has appointed. So it is interpreted, in an ancient tractf89…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Resumption of Ecc 1:9. Whatever changes there be, the succession of events is ordered by God's "everlasting" laws (Ecc 3:14), and returns in a fixed cycle. requireth that . . . past--After many changes, God's law requires the return of the same cycle of events, as in the past, literally, "that which is driven on." The Septuagint and Syriac translate: "God requireth (that is, avengeth) the persecuted man"; a transition to Ecc 3:16-17. The parallel clauses of the verse support English Version.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Rather, What has been - what was before, and what shall be has been before. The word “is” in our the King James Version is erroneously printed in Roman letters: it does not exist in the Hebrew (it should have been italicized); and the word there translated “now” is the same which is translated as “already.” Requireth - i. e., requireth for judgment, as the word specially means in 2 Samuel 4:11; Ezekiel 3:18...It is obvious from the context of the last clause of Ecclesiastes 3:14, and Ecclesiastes 3:16-17, that this is the meaning here. Past - literally, “put to flight.” The meaning of the verse is that there is a connection between events - past, present and future - and that this connection…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Hath been - Things past, present, and to come, are all ordered by one constant counsel, in all parts and ages of the world. There is a continual return of the same motions of the heavenly bodies, of the same seasons of the year, and a constant succession of new generations of men and beasts, but all of the same quality. Ecclesiastes 3:16”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“3:15 The same things happen over and over again: The repetitiveness of history (1:9-10) is part of God’s sovereign plan.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“which hath: Ecc 1:9, Ecc 1:10 past: Heb. driven away Ecclesiastes 3:16”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“"That which is now hath been long ago; and that which will be hath already been: God seeketh after that which was crowded out." The words: "hath been long ago" (הוּא כּבר), are used of that which the present represents as something that hath been, as the fruit of a development; the words: "hath already been" (היה כּבר), are used of the future (ל אשׁר, τὸ μέλλον, vid., Gesen. 132. 1), as denying to it the right of being regarded as something new. The government of God is not to be changed, and does not change; His creative as well as His moral ordering of the world produces with the same laws the same phenomena (the ו corresponds to this line of thought here, as at Ecc 3:14) \- God seeks…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification