Ecclesiastes 1:7 meaning and explanation
All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.
Ecclesiastes 1:7, Berean Standard Bible
Explanation preview
The speaker is the Teacher, traditionally identified as Solomon, opening his long reflection on life "under the sun." Having declared everything futile, he points to the water cycle: rivers pour into the sea, yet the sea never fills, and the water returns to its source to flow again. The Hebrew word translated "futile" is hevel, literally "vapor" or "breath," suggesting what is fleeting and hard to grasp.
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