Ecclesiastes 3:15
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires that which is past.
American King James Version (AKJV)
That which has been is now; and that which is to be has already been; and God requires that which is past.
American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Whatever is has been before, and what is to be is now; because God makes search for the things which are past.
Webster's Revision
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
World English Bible
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.
English Revised Version (ERV)
That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.
Clarke's Ecclesiastes 3:15 Bible Commentary
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.
Barnes's Ecclesiastes 3:15 Bible Commentary
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.
Wesley's Ecclesiastes 3:15 Bible Commentary
3:15 Hath been - Things past, present, and to come, are all ordered by one constant counsel, in all parts and ages of the world. There is a continual return of the same motions of the heavenly bodies, of the same seasons of the year, and a constant succession of new generations of men and beasts, but all of the same quality.