What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
Parallel translations
- WEB That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago: and God seeks again that which is passed away.
- KJV That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
- BSB What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
- NKJV That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
- NASB That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God seeks what has passed by.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
What is and what will be have already been, and God seeks what has passed. History runs according to God's sovereign and recurring design.
Overview
The Preacher reaffirms the sameness of events under God's ordering of time. The phrase 'God seeks what has passed away' suggests He calls past things into account or brings them around again under His providence. This underscores that history is not random but governed by God, whose sovereign purposes will be fully accomplished in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Eccl 1:9–10That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
- Eccl 6:10Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he.
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 3:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.