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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Ecclesiastes 1:6

The wind blows south, the wind blows north—round and round and back again.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Covetousness;   Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Wind, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Vanity;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Time;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Circuit;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ecclesiastes, the Book of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Circuit;   Ecclesiastes, Book of;   Poetry;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ecclesiastes;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Circuit;   Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher;   Wind;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Jonah;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for October 4;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Gusting to the south,turning to the north,turning, turning, goes the wind,and the wind returns in its cycles.
Hebrew Names Version
The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
King James Version
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
English Standard Version
The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
New American Standard Bible
Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.
New Century Version
The wind blows to the south; it blows to the north. It blows from one direction and then another. Then it turns around and repeats the same pattern, going nowhere.
Amplified Bible
The wind blows toward the south, Then circles toward the north; The wind circles and swirls endlessly, And on its circular course the wind returns.
World English Bible
The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The winde goeth toward the South, and compasseth towarde the North: the winde goeth rounde about, and returneth by his circuites.
Legacy Standard Bible
Going toward the south,Then circling toward the north,The wind goes circling along;And on its circular courses the wind returns.
Berean Standard Bible
Blowing southward, then turning northward, round and round the wind swirls, ever returning on its course.
Contemporary English Version
The wind blows south, the wind blows north; round and round it blows over and over again.
Complete Jewish Bible
The wind blows south, then it turns north; the wind blows all around and keeps returning to its rounds.
Darby Translation
The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about towards the north: it turneth about continually, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
Easy-to-Read Version
The wind blows to the south, and the wind blows to the north. The wind blows around and around. Then it turns and blows back to the place it began.
George Lamsa Translation
The wind blows toward the south, and turns about to the north; it whirls continually, and returns again according to its circuits.
Lexham English Bible
The wind goes to the south and goes around to the north; around and around it goes, and on its circuit the wind returns.
Literal Translation
The wind goes toward the south, and turning around to the north; the wind is going around and around. And the wind returns on its circuits.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The wynde goeth towarde ye South, & fetcheth his copase aboute vnto the North, & so turneth in to himself agayne.
American Standard Version
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
Bible in Basic English
The wind goes to the south, turning back again to the north; circling round for ever.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its circuit, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
King James Version (1611)
The winde goeth toward the South, and turneth about vnto the North; it whirleth about continually, and the winde returneth againe according to his circuits.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The wynde goeth towarde the south and turneth vnto the north, fetcheth his compasse, whirleth about, and goeth foorth, and returneth agayne to his circuites from whence he dyd come.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
arising there it proceeds southward, and goes round toward the north. The wind goes round and round, and the wind returns to its circuits.
English Revised Version
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and there it risith ayen, and cumpassith bi the south, and turneth ayen to the north. The spirit cumpassynge alle thingis goith `in cumpas, and turneth ayen in to hise cerclis.
Update Bible Version
The wind goes toward the south, and turns about to the north; it turns about continually in its course, and the wind returns again to its circuits.
Webster's Bible Translation
The wind goeth towards the south, and turneth about to the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to its circuits.
New English Translation
The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns.
New King James Version
The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.
New Living Translation
The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.
New Life Bible
The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north. It goes around and around, and returns again on its way.
New Revised Standard
The wind blows to the south, and goes around to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Going unto the south, and circling unto the north, - circling, circling continually, is, the wind, and, over its own circuits, returneth the wind.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Maketh his round by the south, and turneth again to the north: the spirit goeth forward surveying all places round about, and returneth to his circuits.
Revised Standard Version
The wind blows to the south, and goes round to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns.
Young's Literal Translation
Going unto the south, and turning round unto the north, turning round, turning round, the wind is going, and by its circuits the wind hath returned.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns.

Contextual Overview

4 Generations come and generations go, but the world stays just the same. 5 The sun still rises, and it still goes down, going wearily back to where it must start all over again. 6 The wind blows south, the wind blows north—round and round and back again. 7 Every river flows into the sea, but the sea is not yet full. The water returns to where the rivers began, and starts all over again. 8 Everything leads to weariness—a weariness too great for words. Our eyes can never see enough to be satisfied; our ears can never hear enough.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

The wind: This verse should be connected with the preceding, and rendered, "The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose; going toward the south, and turning about unto the north. The wind whirleth about continually," etc. Alluding, in the former part, to the apparent daily motion of the sun from east to west, and to his annual course through the signs of the zodiac. Job 37:9, Job 37:17, Psalms 107:25, Psalms 107:29, Jonah 1:4, Matthew 7:24, Matthew 7:27, John 3:8, Acts 27:13-15

Reciprocal: Ecclesiastes 6:11 - General Song of Solomon 4:16 - Awake

Cross-References

Genesis 1:5
and he named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening passed and morning came—that was the first day.
Genesis 1:6
Then God commanded, "Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places"—and it was done. So God made a dome, and it separated the water under it from the water above it.
Genesis 1:8
He named the dome "Sky." Evening passed and morning came—that was the second day.
Genesis 1:11
Then he commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit"—and it was done.
Genesis 1:12
So the earth produced all kinds of plants, and God was pleased with what he saw.
Genesis 1:13
Evening passed and morning came—that was the third day.
Genesis 1:14
Then God commanded, "Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin;
Genesis 1:20
Then God commanded, "Let the water be filled with many kinds of living beings, and let the air be filled with birds."
Genesis 1:22
He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the water to reproduce and to fill the sea, and he told the birds to increase in number.
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north,.... The word "wind" is not in this clause in the original text, but is taken from the next, and so may be rendered, "it goeth towards the south", c. that is, the sun x before mentioned, which as to its diurnal and nocturnal course in the daytime goes towards the south, and in the night towards the north and as to its annual course before the winter solstice it goes to the south, and before the summer solstice to the north, as interpreters observe. And the Targum not only interprets this clause, but even the whole verse, of the sun, paraphrasing the whole thus,

"it goes all the side of the south in the daytime, and goes round to the side of the north in the night, by the way of the abyss; it goes its circuit, and comes to the wind of the south corner in the revolution of Nisan and Tammuz; and by its circuit it returns to the wind of the north corner in the revolution of Tisri and Tebet; it goes out of the confines of the east in the morning, and goes into the confines of the west in the evening.''

But Aben Ezra understands the whole of the wind, as our version and others do, which is sometimes in the south point of the heavens, and is presently in the north;

it whirleth about continually; and the wind returneth again according to his circuits; which may be meant of the circuits of the sun, which has a great influence on the wind, often raising it in a morning and laying it at night; but it is the wind itself which whirls and shifts about all the points of the compass, and returns from whence it came, where the treasures of it are. Agreeably to Solomon's account of the wind is Plato's definition of it,

"the wind is the motion of the air round about the earth y.''

This also exemplifies the rotation of men and things, the instability, inconstancy, and restless state of all sublunary enjoyments; the unprofitableness of men's labours, who, while they labour for riches and honour, and natural knowledge, labour for the wind, and fill their belly with east wind, which cannot satisfy, Ecclesiastes 5:16; as well as the frailty of human life, which is like the wind that passes away and comes not again; and in this respect, like the rest of the instances, exceed man, which returns to its place, but man does not, Job 7:7.

x Jarchi, Alshech, and Titatzak, interpret it of the sun; so Mercerus, Varenius, Gejerus; accordingly Mr. Broughton renders it "he walketh to the south." y Definition. p. 1337. Ed. Ficin.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

More literally, Going toward the south and veering toward the north, veering, veering goes the wind; and to its veerings the wind returns.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ecclesiastes 1:6. "The wind is continually whirling about, and the wind returneth upon its whirlings."

It is plain, from the clause which I have restored to the fifth verse, that the author refers to the approximations of the sun to the northern and southern tropics, viz., of Cancer and Capricorn. Ecclesiastes 1:5.

All the versions agree in applying the first clause of the sixth verse to the sun, and not to the wind. Our version alone has mistaken the meaning. My old MS. Bible is quite correct:

The sunne riisith up, and goth doun, and to his place turnith agein; and there agein riising, goth about bi the south, and then agein to the north.

The author points out two things here:

1. Day and night, marked by the appearance of the sun above the horizon; proceeding apparently from east to west; where he sinks under the horizon, and appears to be lost during the night.

2. His annual course through the twelve signs of the zodiac, when, from the equinoctial, he proceeds southward to the tropic of Capricorn; and thence turneth about towards the north, till he reaches the tropic of Cancer; and so on.


 
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