Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Ecclesiastes 1:11 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 11. 11There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse closes the poem by denying durable remembrance to former and future people or events.
Read It With
- Ecclesiastes 1:3-11
Read Ecclesiastes 1:11 with 1:3-11. This verse closes the poem by denying durable remembrance to former and future people or events. The full unit establishes this movement: Human toil seeks an enduring surplus, but generations pass while the earth, sun, wind, rivers, senses, events, and memories expose limits on novelty, satisfaction, and lasting human control.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The poem makes the motto concrete before the memoir begins: ceaseless activity is not the same as progress, fulfillment, or durable remembrance. Within that movement, this verse closes the poem by denying durable remembrance to former and future people or events.
Read Ecclesiastes 1:3–11 together
Why these verses belong together: The profit question is answered by one poem of passing generations, ceaseless movement, unsatisfied perception, repetition, and forgetting.
Verse 3. 3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
Verse 4. 4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Verse 5. 5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
Verse 6. 6 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.
Verse 7. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Verse 8. 8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Verse 9. 9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
Verse 10. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
Verse 11. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
Follow the Context
- The profit question asks what surplus remains from toil.
- Generations pass while earth and natural processes continue.
- Human speech, sight, and hearing cannot reach completion.
- Claims of novelty fail against forgotten recurrence.
- Past and future actors alike pass from memory.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“remembrance”
In plain language: Public or communal memory that does not endure across generations.
closes the poem by denying durable remembrance to former and future people or events. Public memory is fragile, so recognition cannot carry the weight of permanent human profit.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk requiring the complete unit and stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not prove that every person is forgotten by God or by every community.
Failed remembrance does not make past people, losses, or responsibilities unimportant.
What Remains True
Public memory is fragile, so recognition cannot carry the weight of permanent human profit.
How It Can Shape Life
- Preserve truthful records and honor contributions without making fame the measure of a life's worth.
Teach It Back
Explain Ecclesiastes 1:11's precise role in Ecclesiastes 1:3-11. Include the complete movement, one material uncertainty, and one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Ecclesiastes 1:3-11 — No Lasting Profit in the Restless WorldSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
'Former things' and 'things to come' may refer to people, deeds, or events; the forgetting theme is clear even where the referent is broad.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Ecclesiastes 1:3-11, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Ecclesiastes
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used for lexical, grammatical, repeated-word, and translation questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Eccl.xml, 1:3-11
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Ecclesiastes with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level textual, grammatical, lexical, literary, and translation alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Ecclesiastes PDF, printed pp. 1185-1187, translation and notes on 1:3-11
Open source ↗