Ecclesiastes 3:19
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 in other translations
| BSB | For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile. |
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| WEB | For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals, for all is vanity. |
| ASV | For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; and man hath no preeminence above the beasts: for all is vanity. |
| YLT | For an event is to the sons of man, and an event is to the beasts, even one event is to them; as the death of this, so is the death of that; and one spirit is to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole is vanity. |
| DARBY | For what befalleth the children of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other, and they have all one breath; and man hath no pre-eminence above the beast: for all is vanity. |
| BBE | Because the fate of the sons of men and the fate of the beasts is the same. As is the death of one so is the death of the other, and all have one spirit. Man is not higher than the beasts; because all is to no purpose. |
| Webster | For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yes, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: for all is vanity. |
What does Ecclesiastes 3:19 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
Without the fear of the Lord, man is but vanity; set that aside, and judges will not use their power well. And there is another Judge that stands before the door. With God there is a time for the redressing of grievances, though as yet we see it not. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without…
Ecclesiastes 3:19 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Ecclesiastes 3:19
- Psalms 49:12
Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
- Psalms 49:20
Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
- Job 14:10-12
But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.
- Ecclesiastes 2:14
The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
- Psalms 89:47-48
Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain? What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.
- Ecclesiastes 2:20-23
Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
- Psalms 39:5-6
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
- Psalms 104:29
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
- Psalms 92:6-7
A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
- Ecclesiastes 2:16
For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.
- 2 Samuel 14:14
For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Ecclesiastes 3:18
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
- Ecclesiastes 3:19
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
- Ecclesiastes 3:20
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Porque el suceso de los hijos de los hombres, y el suceso del animal, el mismo suceso es: como mueren los unos, así mueren los otros; y una misma respiración tienen todos; ni tiene más el hombre que la bestia: porque todo es vanidad. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Car ce qui arrive aux fils des hommes est aussi ce qui arrive aux bêtes; il y a pour tous un même sort: comme celle-ci meurt, ainsi meurt celui-là; et ils ont tous un même souffle, et l’homme n’a point d’avantage sur la bête, car tout est vanité. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Denn was das Geschick der Menschenkinder und das Geschick der Tiere betrifft, so haben sie einerlei Geschick:wie diese sterben, so sterben jene, und einen Odem haben sie alle; und da ist kein Vorzug des Menschen vor dem Tiere, denn alles ist Eitelkeit. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Idcirco unus interitus est hominis et jumentorum, et æqua utriusque conditio. Sicut moritur homo, sic et illa moriuntur. Similiter spirant omnia, et nihil habet homo jumento amplius: cuncta subjacent vanitati, |