Ecclesiastes 1:7

All the streams flow ¹  into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. ² 

All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again.

All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.

The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea.

All the rivers flow into the sea, but the sea never fills up. The rivers keep flowing to the same old place, and then start all over and do it again.

All the rivers go down to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the rivers go, there they go again.

All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they continue to flow.

All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again.

All the streams flow ¹  into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again. ² 

¹ tn Heb “are going” or “are walking.” The term הֹלְכִים (holÿkhim, Qal active participle masculine plural from הָלַךְ, halakh,“to walk”) emphasizes continual, durative, uninterrupted action (present universal use of participle). This may be an example of personification; this verb is normally used in reference to the human activity of walking. Qoheleth compares the flowing of river waters to the action of walking to draw out the comparison between the actions of man (1:4) and the actions of nature (1:5-11).

² tn Heb “there they are returning to go.” The term שָׁבִים (shavim, Qal active participle masculine plural from שׁוּב, shuv, “to return”) emphasizes the continual, durative action of the waters. The root שׁוּב is repeated in 1:6-7 to emphasize that everything in nature (e.g., wind and water) continually repeats its actions. For all of the repetition of the cycles of nature, nothing changes; all the constant motion produces nothing new.

sn This verse does not refer to the cycle of evaporation or the return of water by underground streams, as sometimes suggested. Rather, it describes the constant flow of river waters to the sea. For all the action of the water – endless repetition and water constantly in motion – there is nothing new accomplished.