The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to his place where he arose.
sun
Genesis 8:22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Psalm 19:4-6 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, …
Psalm 89:36,37 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me…
hasteth
Joshua 10:13,14 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day…
Psalm 42:1 To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
Habakkuk 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
God appointed the sun to govern the day at creation (Genesis 1:14–19). Its daily appearance testifies that the sun is not a deity, as many surrounding nations believed, but a creature obedient to its Creator. Each morning also recalls the steadfast mercies of God, which are new every day (Lamentations 3:22–23).
Mat 5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.…
Jas 1:11 For the sun rises with scorching heat…
Mal 4:2 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness…
and the sun sets;
The close of each day marks the end of human labor and calls attention to the limits God has placed upon life under the sun. Evening brings the need for rest, reflecting the pattern established when God rested after His creative work (Genesis 2:2–3).
Psa 104:19 He made the moon to mark the seasons…
Luk 4:40 At sunset, all who were ill with various diseases…
Mrk 1:32 That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus…
it hurries back to where it rises.
The sun’s unceasing circuit illustrates the repetitive order of a fallen world. Generation after generation labors beneath the same heavens, yet no human effort can break the cycle of mortality and futility. Creation itself awaits the redemption God will finally accomplish, when He makes all things new (Romans 8:20–23; Revelation 21:1–5).
Psa 19:6 it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit…
Psa 50:1 A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD…
Psa 113:3 From where the sun rises to where it sets…
“The sun rises” (Ecclesiastes 1:5a) paints the picture of a brand-new dawn God faithfully sends every single day.
• Genesis 1:16–18 shows the Lord creating the sun as a “great light” to govern day, highlighting that its appearance is no accident but divine design.
• Psalm 19:4-6 likens the sun to “a bridegroom emerging from his chamber,” stressing both its splendor and its regularity.
• Malachi 4:2 promises that “the sun of righteousness will rise,” reminding us that each sunrise whispers hope and points to Christ.
Solomon begins with what is certain: God’s ordered creation keeps moving at His command, testifying to His reliability even while human efforts can feel uncertain.
“and the sun sets” (Ecclesiastes 1:5b) completes the daily arc, underlining life’s brevity.
• Psalm 104:19 notes, “the sun knows when to set,” confirming God’s precise timing.
• Joshua 10:13 records a day when the sun miraculously delayed its setting, proving the Lord can suspend even the most dependable routine.
• Mark 1:32 describes ministry beginning “after sunset,” showing how the setting sun partitions time and opportunity.
Every sunset silently calls us to number our days, remember that earthly activity has limits, and trust the One who stands outside those limits.
“it hurries back” (Ecclesiastes 1:5c) conveys motion and urgency; the sun never drifts lazily but races on schedule.
• Psalm 19:5 pictures it “like a champion rejoicing to run his course,” capturing the vigorous, unstoppable rhythm God set in motion.
• Job 9:7 notes the Lord can halt that race, again underscoring His sovereign rule.
• Amos 5:8 celebrates the God “who turns dawn to darkness,” reminding us that the relentless circuit is not random but governed by Him.
Solomon’s point: creation’s tireless repetition highlights how quickly time moves for us and how powerless we are to slow it down.
“to where it rises” (Ecclesiastes 1:5d) circles back to the starting line, emphasizing the closed loop of earthly cycles.
• Ecclesiastes 3:1 affirms “there is a season for every activity,” echoing the continual return.
• Jeremiah 31:35 calls the sun’s fixed place a decree of God, speaking to His unchanging faithfulness.
• James 1:17 assures us that with the “Father of lights” there is “no variation or shifting shadow,” reassuring hearts that although life feels repetitive, the One behind it all is steadfast and trustworthy.
The sun’s return to sunrise shows that while days repeat, God’s purposes remain firm, and He invites us to anchor our lives in that constancy rather than in the fleeting rhythm itself.
Ecclesiastes 1:5 uses the daily journey of the sun to illustrate the dependable yet wearisome cycles of life under the sun. Each sunrise and sunset testifies to God’s precise, sovereign order, but they also reveal how limited human effort feels within those repetitive patterns. The verse encourages honest recognition of life’s transience while pointing to the Lord whose faithfulness governs every circuit and whose eternal purpose gives lasting meaning beyond the cycle.
(5) Hasteth.—Heb., panteth. The word is used of eager desire (Job 7:2; Psalm 119:131).Where he arose.—Better, there to rise again.
Verse 5. - The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down. The sun is another instance of ever-recurring change in the face of an enduring sameness, rising and setting day-by-day, and resting never. The legendary 'Life of Abram' relates how, having been hidden for some years in a cave in order to escape the search of Nimrod, when he emerged from his concealment, and for the first time beheld heaven and earth, he began to inquire who was the Creator of the wonders around him. When the sun arose and flooded the scene with its glorious light, he at once concluded that that bright orb must be the creative Deity, and offered his prayers to it all day long. But when it sank in darkness, he repented of his illusion, being persuaded that the sun could not have made the world and be itself subject to extinction (see 'Abraham: his Life and Times,' p. 12). And hasteth to his place where he arose; literally, and panteth (equivalent to hasteth, longeth to go) to its place arising there; i.e. the sun, sinking in the west, eagerly during the night returns to the east, duly to rise there in the morning. The "place" is the region of reappearance. The Septuagint gives, "The sun arises, and the sun sets, and draws (ἕλκει) unto its place;" and then carries the idea into the following verse: "Arising there, it proceedeth southward," etc. The Vulgate supports the rendering; but there is no doubt that the Authorized Version gives substantially the sense of the Hebrew text as accentuated. The verb שׁאפ (shaaph), as Delitzsch shows, implies "punting," not from fatigue, but in eager pursuit of something; and all notions of panting steeds or morning exhalations are quite foreign from the conception of the passage. The notion which Koheleth desires to convey is that the sun makes no real progress; its eager punting merely brings it to the old place, there to recommence its monotonous routine. Rosenmüller quotes Catullus, 'Carm.,' 5:4-6, on which, Doering cites Lotich., 'Eleg.,' 3:7. 23 -"Ergo ubi permensus coelum sol occidit, idem
Purpureo vestit lumine rursus humum;
Nos, ubi decidimus, defuncti muncre vitae,
Urget perpetua hmina nocte sopor." But our passage does not contrast the revival of the sun every morning with man's eternal sleep in death.
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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 1:5 The sun also rises and the sun (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)