the Second Week after Easter
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Ecclesiastes 3:15
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Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. However, God seeks justice for the persecuted.
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.
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
That which is, is what has already been, and that which will be has already been; and God seeks what has passed by.
What happens now has happened in the past, and what will happen in the future has happened before. God makes the same things happen again and again.
That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by [so that history repeats itself].
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.
What is that that hath bene? that is nowe: and that that shalbe, hath now bene: for God requireth that which is past.
That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, yet God seeks what is pursued.
What exists has already been, and what will be has already been, for God will call to account what has passed.
Everything that happens has happened before, and all that will be has already been— God does everything over and over again.
That which was is here already; and that which will be has already been, but God seeks out what people chase after.
That which is was long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God bringeth back again that which is past.
That which is now, already has been; and that which is to be, has already been; and God will avenge him who has been persecuted.
Whatever happens or can happen has already happened before. God makes the same thing happen again and again.
What is—it already was, and what will be—it already is, for God will do what he has done.
That which has been, it already is; and that which is to be, it already has been. And God seeks what has gone by.
The thinge yt hath bene, is now: & the thinge yt is for to come, hath bene afore tyme, for God restoreth agayne the thinge that was past.
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.
Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.
That which is hath been long ago, and that which is to be hath already been; and God seeketh that which is pursued.
That which hath beene, is now: and that which is to be, hath alreadie beene, and God requireth that which is past.
The thyng that hath ben, is nowe: and the thyng that is for to come, hath ben afore time: for God restoreth againe the thyng that was past.
That which has been is now; and whatever things are appointed to be have already been; and God will seek out that which is past.
That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.
That thing that is maad, dwellith perfitli; tho thingis that schulen come, weren bifore; and God restorith that, that is goon.
That which is has been long ago; and that which is to be has long ago been: and God seeks again that which has passed away.
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.
That which is has already been, And what is to be has already been; And God requires an account of what is past.
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.
That which is, already has been. And that which will be, has already been. For God allows the same things to happen again.
That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already is; and God seeks out what has gone by.
That which was, already, had been, and, that which shall be, already, shall have been, - but, God, seeketh that which hath been chased away.
That which hath been made, the same continueth: the things that shall be, have already been: and God restoreth that which is past.
That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.
What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which [is] to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.
Whatever was, is. Whatever will be, is. That's how it always is with God.
That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
which hath: Ecclesiastes 1:9, Ecclesiastes 1:10
past: Heb. driven away
Reciprocal: Ecclesiastes 6:10 - which
Cross-References
The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, "Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.'"
But the snake said to the woman, "You will not die.
The woman could see that the tree was beautiful and the fruit looked so good to eat. She also liked the idea that it would make her wise. So she took some of the fruit from the tree and ate it. Her husband was there with her, so she gave him some of the fruit, and he ate it.
Then it was as if their eyes opened, and they saw things differently. They saw that they were naked. So they got some fig leaves, sewed them together, and wore them for clothes.
During the cool part of the day, the Lord God was walking in the garden. The man and the woman heard him, and they hid among the trees in the garden.
The man said, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid."
Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" She said, "The snake tricked me, so I ate the fruit."
So the Lord God said to the snake, "You did this very bad thing, so bad things will happen to you. It will be worse for you than for any other animal. You must crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.
I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your children and her children will be enemies. You will bite her child's foot, but he will crush your head."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
That which hath seen is now; and that which is to be hath already been,.... 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", 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 tract p of the Jews, of
"what was before it came into the world, so that there is nothing new under the sun; now it is obliged to come into this world, as it is said, "before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee", Jeremiah 1:5.''
This will also hold true of natural things, and of the identity of them; of some individuals, as the sun, moon, and stars, which are as they always were, and will be; the sun rises and sets as it used to do; and the moon increases and decreases, as it always has done; and the stars keep the same station or course, and so they ever will, as they have: the same seasons are now in their turn as heretofore, and such as will be have been already; as summer, winter, spring, autumn, seedtime, harvest, cold, heat, night, and day: the same kinds and species of creatures, that have been, are; and what will be have been already; so that there is no new thing under the sun; the same thing is here expressed as in Ecclesiastes 1:9;
and God requireth that which is past; his decrees and purposes to be fulfilled, which are past in his mind; the same seasons to return which have been; and the same kinds and species of creatures to exist which have already. The words may be rendered, "and God seeketh that which is pursued", or "persecuted" q: and accordingly the whole will bear a different sense; and the preacher may be thought to have entered upon a new subject, which he continues in some following verses, the abuse of power and authority: and the meaning then is, the same acts of injustice, violence, and persecution, have been done formerly as now, and now as formerly; and what hereafter of this kind may be, will be no other than what has been; from the beginning persecution was; Cain hated and slew his brother, because of his superior goodness; and so it always has been, is, and will be, that such who are after the flesh persecute those who are after the spirit; but God will make inquisition for blood, and require it at the hands of those that shed it; he will seek out the persecuted, and vindicate him, and, avenge his persecutor. This way the Midrash, Jarchi, and Alshech, and the Septuagint version, render the words; and so the Syriac version, "God seeketh him that is afflicted, who is driven away"; and to this agrees the Targum,
"and in the great day which shall be, the Lord will require the mean and poor man of the hands of the wicked that persecute him.''
And what follows seems to confirm this sense.
p Tikkune Zohar Correct. 69. fol. 104. 2. q ואלהים יבקש את נרדף "Deus quaerit propulsum, seu quod persecutionem veluti passum est", Gejerus, Schmidt.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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 exists in the justice of God who controls all.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. That which hath been is now — God governs the world now, as he has governed it from the beginning; and the revolutions and operations of nature are the same now, that they have been from the beginning. What we see now, is the same as has been seen by those before us.
And God requireth that which is past — i.e., That it may return again in its proper order. The heavens themselves, taking in their great revolutions, show the same phenomena. Even comets are supposed to have their revolutions, though some of them are hundreds of years in going round their orbits.
But in the economy of grace, does not God require that which is past? Whatever blessing or influence God gives to the soul of man, he intends shall remain and increase; and it will, if man be faithful. Reader, canst thou produce all the secret inspirations of his Spirit, all the drawings of his love, his pardoning mercy, his sanctifying grace, the heavenly-mindedness produced in thee, thy holy zeal, thy spirit of prayer, thy tender conscience, the witness of the Spirit, which thou didst once receive and enjoy? WHERE are they? God requireth that which is past.
