I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals. 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. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
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Ecclesiastes 3:18-21 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there. I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals. 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. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
Parallel Translations
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I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.
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.
All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
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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.
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.
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
Show all 3 translations
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I said in my heart: 'It is because of the sons of men, that God may sift them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.'
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 man hath no pre-eminence above a beast; for all is vanity.
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all return to dust.
Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth?
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Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (50)
- Psalms 73:22 (v18) I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you.
- Psalms 49:12 (vv18–19) But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure. He is like the animals that perish.
- Ecclesiastes 12:7 (vv20–21) and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Genesis 3:19 (v20) You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall…
- Job 34:15 (v20) all flesh would perish together, and man would turn again to dust.
Show all 46 cross-references
- Genesis 3:17-19 (v18) To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and ate from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall…
- Psalms 49:20 (v19) A man who has riches without understanding, is like the animals that perish.
- Hebrews 9:27 (v18) Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,
- 2 Peter 2:12 (v18) But these, as unreasoning creatures, born natural animals to be taken and destroyed, speaking evil in matters about which they are…
- Job 14:10-12 (v19) But man dies, and is laid low. Yes, man gives up the spirit, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the river wastes and…
- John 14:3 (v21) If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
- Romans 9:23 (v18) and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
- 2 Corinthians 5:1 (v21) For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the…
- 1 Peter 1:24 (v18) For, “All flesh is like grass, and all of man’s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
- Psalms 49:14 (vv18, 20) They are appointed as a flock for Sheol. Death shall be their shepherd. The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. Their…
- Psalms 104:29 (vv19–20) You hide your face; they are troubled. You take away their breath; they die and return to the dust.
- Numbers 27:13 (v20) When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered;
- Job 7:9 (v20) As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol will come up no more.
- Job 10:9-10 (v20) Remember, I beg you, that you have fashioned me as clay. Will you bring me into dust again? Haven’t you poured me out like milk, and…
- Job 14:1-4 (v18) “Man, who is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. He grows up like a flower, and is cut down. He also flees like a shadow,…
- Job 15:16 (v18) how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
- Job 40:8 (v18) Will you even annul my judgment? Will you condemn me, that you may be justified?
- Psalms 39:5-6 (v19) Behold, you have made my days hand widths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath.” “Surely every man…
- Psalms 49:19-20 (v18) he shall go to the generation of his fathers. They shall never see the light. A man who has riches without understanding, is like the…
- Psalms 51:4 (v18) Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and…
- Psalms 73:18-19 (v18) Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction. How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away…
- Psalms 89:47-48 (v19) Remember how short my time is, for what vanity you have created all the children of men! What man is he who shall live and not see death,…
- Psalms 90:5-12 (v18) You sweep them away as they sleep. In the morning they sprout like new grass. In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is…
- Ecclesiastes 2:14 (v19) The wise man’s eyes are in his head, and the fool walks in darkness—and yet I perceived that one event happens to them all.
- Ecclesiastes 2:20-23 (v19) Therefore I began to cause my heart to despair concerning all the labor in which I had labored under the sun. For there is a man whose…
- Ecclesiastes 3:21 (v20) Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
- Ecclesiastes 6:6 (v20) Yes, though he live a thousand years twice told, and yet fails to enjoy good, don’t all go to one place?
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 (v20) Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are…
- Luke 16:22-23 (v21) The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. In Hades, he lifted up…
- Romans 3:4 (v18) May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “that you might be justified in your words, and might…
- Philippians 1:23 (v21) But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
- Genesis 25:8 (v20) Abraham gave up his spirit, and died at a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
- Genesis 25:17 (v20) These are the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred thirty-seven years. He gave up his spirit and died, and was gathered to his people.
- 2 Samuel 14:14 (v19) For we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground, which can’t be gathered up again; neither does God take away life, but devises…
- Job 17:13 (v20) If I look for Sheol as my house, if I have spread my couch in the darkness,
- Psalms 92:6-7 (v19) A senseless man doesn’t know, neither does a fool understand this: though the wicked spring up as the grass, and all the evildoers…
- Ecclesiastes 2:16 (v19) For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no memory forever, since in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. Indeed,…
- Daniel 12:2 (v20) Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
- Acts 1:25 (v21) to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:8 (v21) We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
- Job 30:24 (v20) “However doesn’t one stretch out a hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?
46 distinct cross-references across this passage (50 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21 And made them pure in their first creation.
And made them pure in their first creation.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–21 Ecc 3:18 I said in mine heart concerning the…
Ecc 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.
Ver. 18. That they might see that they themselves are beasts.] It is reckoned a great matter that wicked men are made "to know themselves to be but men," and no more. {Psa 9:20} But God will make good men see and say with David, "So foolish was I and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee." Pulchre addidit, "apud te," saith Ambrose upon those words. {a} Elegantly said the Psalmist, "Before thee," because, in respect of God, what is man but an unreasonable beast? He that is wisest among men, said Socrates, who himself was held the wisest of men, if he be compared to God, Simia videbitur, non sapiens, he will seem rather an ape than a wise man. {b} David calls himself not a "beast" only, but "beasts," in the plural, {c} behemoth, or at least a very great beast, not an ape, but an elephant. And this is that which God would have all good men see, hemmah lahem, as this text hath it, themselves to themselves, in their humble account of themselves, as holy Agur did. {Pro 30:2} {See Trapp on "Pro 30:2"}
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{a} Ambr. in Ps. lxxxiii,
{b} Socrat. apud Platon.
{c} Eram apud te sicut bestiae. - Mercer.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18–21 I said in my heart; and further I considered…
I said in my heart; and further I considered with myself.
Concerning the estate of the sons of men; concerning their condition and deportment in this present world.
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That God might manifest them; God suffers these horrible disorders among men, expressed Ecc 3:16, that he might discover men to themselves, and by permitting these actions show what strange creatures they are, and what vile hearts they have, which men would not otherwise understand or believe. See 2Ki 8:13,14.
That they themselves are beasts, Heb. that they are beasts to themselves; either,
1. One to another, devouring and destroying one another. Or,
2. In their own judgment, or themselves being judges; that although God made them men or reasonable creatures, yet they have made themselves beasts by their brutish practices; and that men, considered only with respect unto the present life, which is the only thing valued and regarded by most men, and the vanity whereof is the principal subject of this book, are as vain and miserable creatures as the beasts themselves, the great differences between men and beasts being such as respect the other life. For men seem here to be called beasts in both these respects, and the latter he prosecutes more largely in the following verses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–21 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of…
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men,.... He thought of the condition of the children of men, their sinful and polluted state; he weighed and considered in his mind their actions, conversation, and course of life; and was concerned how it would go with them at the day of judgment on account of the same. Some render it, "I said in mine heart after the speech of the children of men" (r); speaking in their language, and representing the atheist and the epicure, as some think the wise man does in the following verses; though he rather speaks his own real sentiments concerning men, as they are in their present state, and as they will appear in the day of judgment;
that God might manifest them; or "separate them" (s); as the chaff from the wheat, and as goats from the sheep; as will be done at the day of judgment, Mat 3:10; or "that they might clear God" (t); as they will, when he shall judge and condemn them;
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and that they might see that they themselves are beasts; as they are through the fall, and the corruption of nature, being born like the wild ass's colt, stupid, senseless, and without understanding of spiritual things; nay, more brutish than the beasts themselves, than the horse and the mule that have no understanding, Psa 32:9; "mulo inscitior", as is Plautus's (u) phrase; see Psa 49:12, Isa 1:3; this is now made manifest to the people of God by the word and Spirit; is seen, known, and acknowledged by them, Psa 73:21; and the wicked themselves will see, know, and own what beasts they are and have been, at the day of judgment; how they have lived and died like beasts; how like brute beasts they have corrupted themselves in things they knew naturally; and that as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, spoke evil of things they understood not, and perished in their own corruption, Jde 1:10, Pe2 2:12; and that they have been beasts to themselves, as Jarchi renders and interprets it; made beasts of themselves by their brutish gratifications; have been cruel to themselves, ruining and destroying their own souls; or among themselves, and to one another, "homo lupus homini"; hence wicked men are compared to lions, foxes, evening wolves, vipers, and the like. So Mr. Broughton renders it, "how they are beasts, they to themselves."
(r) "super verbum filiorum Adam", Montanus; "verbis hominum", Arabic and Syriac versions. (s) "ut discernat illos", Cocceius; "quia delegit eos", some in Vatablus; so Aben Ezra and Ben Melech. (t) "Ut ipsi expurgent Deum", Anglic. in Reinbeck; some in Rambachius render it thus, "ut seligant ipsi (homines) Deum"; so Varenius. (u) Cisteilaria, Act. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv18–21 I said - And further I considered concerning their…
I said - And further I considered concerning their condition in this present world. That God - God suffers these disorders among men, that he might discover men to themselves, and shew what strange creatures they are, and what vile hearts they have. Beasts - That altho' God made them men, yet they have made themselves beasts by their brutish practices, and that, considered only with respect to the present life, they are as vain and miserable creatures as the beasts themselves.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv18–21 Verse 18. That they might see that they themselves…
Verse 18. That they might see that they themselves are beasts.] The author of Choheleth has given a correct view of this difficult verse, by a proper translation: "I said in my heart, reflecting on the state of the sons of men, O that God would enlighten them, and make them see that even they themselves are like beasts." These words are to be referred to those in authority who abused their power; particularly to the corrupt magistrates mentioned above.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv18–20 Ecc 3:18. I said in my heart, &c. —…
Ecc 3:18. I said in my heart, &c. — And I further considered concerning their condition in this present world. That God might manifest them — God suffers these disorders among men, that he might discover men to themselves, and show what strange creatures they are, and what vile hearts they have. That they are beasts — That although God made them men, yet they have made themselves beasts by their brutish practices, and that, considered only with respect to the present life, they are as vain and miserable creatures as the beasts themselves.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21 Beasts. Another doubt; or suggestion of infidels. (St. Gregory,…
Beasts. Another doubt; or suggestion of infidels. (St. Gregory, Dial. iv. 4.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv18, 19, 21 estate--The estate of fallen man is so ordered (these…
estate--The estate of fallen man is so ordered (these wrongs are permitted), that God might "manifest," that is, thereby prove them, and that they might themselves see their mortal frailty, like that of the beasts.
sons of men--rather, "sons of Adam," a phrase used for "fallen men." The toleration of injustice until the judgment is designed to "manifest" men's characters in their fallen state, to see whether the oppressed will bear themselves aright amidst their wrongs, knowing that the time is short, and there is a coming judgment. The oppressed share in death, but the comparison to "beasts" applies especially to the ungodly oppressors (Psa 49:12, Psa 49:20). They too need to be "manifested" ("proved"), whether, considering that they must soon die as the "beasts," and fearing the judgment to come, they will repent (Dan 4:27).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18–21 18. The fact that this verse begins like the…
18. The fact that this verse begins like the preceding indicates that it introduces an additional and independent thought. Yet or also might be inserted to make it plainer.
That God might manifest — Better, That God has made them conspicuous, even that they might see that they are like beasts. As if a beast were unconscious that he is a beast, but man, by his superior intellect, is made to see and feel this concerning himself.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–21 18. I said in mine heart] The word “estate”…
18. I said in mine heart] The word “estate” expresses fairly the meaning of the Hebrew noun, which may be rendered “word,” “matter,” or “subject.” In the next clause for “that God might manifest them,” we may better read, that God might separate, sift, or try them, i.e. in modern phrase, He leaves the disorders of the world unredressed, as part of man’s probation. This comes into the heart of the seeker as a partial explanation of the disorders noted in Ecc_3:16.
that they might see that they themselves are beasts] The pronoun in the original has, as in the English version, the strong emphasis of iteration, that they are beasts, they by themselves. The thought implied is that without a higher faith of some kind—whether in the Divine Righteousness or in Immortality, is not yet defined—Man stands, as having only an animal life, on the same level as other animals. In the words of an old English poet:
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“Unless above himself he can
Erect himself, how poor a thing is man!”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv19, 21 (19) That which befalleth.—The word translated “event” in Ecc_2:13…
(19) That which befalleth.—The word translated “event” in Ecc_2:13 (where see Note).
Breath.—The same word as “spirit” (Ecc_3:21; Gen_7:15; Psa_104:30).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18–21 The comfort derived from the thought of the future…
The comfort derived from the thought of the future judgment is clouded by the reflection that man is as powerless as the beast to control his destiny. Concerning the estate of the sons of men; rather, it happens on account of the sons of men. God allows events to take place, disorders to continue, etc., for the ultimate profit of men, though the idea that follows is humiliating and dispiriting. The LXX has peri laliav, concerning the speech of the sons of men." So the Syriac. The word dibrah may indeed bear that meaning, as it is also used for word" or matter;" but we cannot conceive that the clause refers solely to words, and the expression in the text signifies merely for the sake, on account of," as in Ecc_8:2. That God might manifest them; rather, that God might test them; Ut probaret eos Dens (Vulgate) God allows these things, endures them patiently, and does not at once redress them, for two reasons. The first of these is that they may serve for the probation of men, giving them opportunity of making good or bad use of them. We see the effect of this forbearance on the wicked in Ecc_8:11; it hardens them in impenitence; while it nourishes the faith of the righteous, and helps them to persevere. (see Dan_11:35 and Rev_22:11) And that they might see that they themselves are beasts. The pronoun is repeated emphatically, "that they themselves are like beasts, they in themselves." This is the second reason. Thus they learn their own powerlessness, if they regard merely their own animal life; apart from their relation to God and hope of the future, they are no better than the lower creatures. Septuagint. "And to show (tou deixai) that they are beasts." So the Vulgate and Syriac. The Masoretic reading adopted in the Anglican Version seems best.
Vers. 18-21.
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The common destiny of death.
The double nature of man has been recognized by every student of human nature. The sensationalist and materialist lays stress upon the physical side of our humanity, and endeavors to show that the intellect and the moral sentiments are the outgrowth of the bodily life, the nervous structure and its susceptibilities and its powers of movement. But such efforts fail to convince alike the unsophisticated and the philosophic. It is generally admitted that it would be more reasonable to resolve the physical into the psychical than the psychical into the physical. The author of Ecclesiastes was alive to the animal side of man"s nature; and if some only of his expressions were considered, he might be claimed as a supporter of the baser philosophy. But he himself supplies the counteractive. The attentive reader of the book is convinced that the author traced the human spirit to its Divine original, and looked forward to its immortality.
I THE COMMUNITY OF MEN WITH BEASTS IN THE ANIMAL NATURE AND LIFE. If we look upon one side of our humanity, it appears that we are to be reckoned among the brutes that perish. The similarity is obvious in:
1. The corporeal, fleshly constitution with which man and brute are alike endowed.
2. The brevity of the earthly life appointed for both without distinction.
3. The resolution of the body into dust.
II THE SUPERIORITY OF MEN OVER BEASTS IN THE POSSESSION OF A SPIRITUAL AND IMPERISHABLE NATURE AND LIFE. It is difficult for us to treat this subject without; bringing to bear upon it the knowledge which we have derived from the fuller and more glorious revelation of the new covenant. "Christ has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light by the gospel." We cannot possibly think of such themes without taking to their consideration the convictions and the hopes which we have derived from the incarnate Son of God. Nor can we forget the sublime speculations of philosophers of both ancient and modern times.
1. In his spiritual nature man is akin to God. Physical life the Creator imparted to the animal Organisms with which the world was peopled. But a life of quite another order was conferred upon man, who participates in the ...Divine reason, who is able? think the thoughts of God himself, and who has intuitions of moral goodness of which the brute creation is for ever incapable. Instead of man"s mind being a function of organized matter, as a base sensationalism and empiricism is wont to affirm, the truth is that it is only as an expression and vehicle of thought, of reason, that matter has a dependent existence.
2. In his consequent immortality man is distinguished from the inferior animals. The life possessed by these latter is a life of sensation and of movement; the organism is resolved into its constituents, and there is no reason to believe that the sensation and movement are perpetuated. But "the spirit of man goeth upward;" it has used its instrument, the body, and the time comes appointed by God"s inscrutable providence when the connection, local and temporary, which the spirit has maintained with earth, is sundered. In what other scenes and pursuits the conscious being is continued, we cannot tell. But there is not the slightest reason for conceiving the spiritual life to be dependent upon the organism which it uses as its instrument. The spiritual life is the life of God; and the life of God is perishable.
The sun is but a spark of fire, A transient meteor in the sky; The soul, immortal as its Sire, Can never die. T.
Vers. 18-21.
Before and after Christ.
These words have a strange sound in our ears; they evidently do not belong to New Testament times. They bring before us
I MAN"S UNENLIGHTENED CONCEPTION OF HIMSELF. It is evidently possible that, under certain conditions, men may judge themselves to be of no nobler nature than that of "the beasts that perish." It may be
(1) bodily suffering or weakness; or
(2) untoward and disappointing circumstances; or
(3) bewilderment of mind after vain endeavors to solve great spiritual problems; or
(4) the distracted and unnatural state of the society in which we are placed (see Cox"s "Quest of the Chief Good"); but, owing to some one of many possible causes, men may be driven to take the lowest view of human nature; so much so that they may lose all respect for themselves may shut the future life entirely out of view, and live in the narrow circle of the present; may confine their ambition and aspiration to bodily enjoyment and the excitements of present occupation; may practically own themselves to be defeated, and go blindly on, "hoping nothing, believing nothing, and fearing nothing.
Such a melancholy conclusion
(1) does us sad dishonor;
(2) has a demoralizing influence on character and life;
(3) yields a wretched harvest of despair and self-destruction. In most happy contrast with this is
II THE VIEW OF OUR NATURE WHICH CHRIST HAS GIVEN US. He asks us to think how "much a man is better than a sheep," and reminds us that we are "of more value than many sparrows." He bids us realize that one human soul is worth more than "the whole world," and that there is nothing so costly that it will represent its value. He reveals to us the supreme and most blessed fact that each human spirit is the object of Divine solicitude, and may find a home in the Father"s heart of love at once, and in his nearer presence soon. He assures us that there is a glorious future before every man that becomes the subject of his kingdom, and serves faithfully to the end. Under his teaching, instead of seeing that "they themselves are beasts," his disciples find themselves "children of their Father who is in heaven," "kings and priests unto God," "heirs of eternal life." Coming after Christ, and learning of him, we see that we are capable of a noble heritage now, and move toward a still nobler estate a little further on. C.
Vers. 18-22.
The darkness of the grave.
In these words our author reaches the very lowest depth of misery and despair. His observation of the facts of human life leads him to the humiliating conclusion that it is almost hopeless to assign to man a higher nature and a more noble destiny than those which belong to the beasts that perish. The moral inequalities of the world, the injustice that goes unpunished, the hopes by which men are deluded, the uncertainty of life, the doubtfulness of immortality, seem to justify the assertion "that a man hath no pre-eminence over a beast." The special point of comparison on which he dwells is the common mortality of both. Man and beast are possessed of bodies composed of the same elements, nourished by the same food, liable to the same accidents, and destined to return to the kindred dust from which they sprang. Both are ignorant of the period of life assigned to them; a moment before the stroke of death falls on them they may be unconscious that evil is at hand, and when they realize the fact they are equally powerless to avert it. What there is in common between them is manifest to all, while the evidence to be. adduced in favor of the superiority of man is, from its very nature, less convincing. The spiritually minded will attach great weight to arguments against which the natural reason may draw up plausible objections. Let us, then, see the case stated at its very worst, and consider if there are any redeeming circumstances which are calculated to relieve the gloom which a cursory reading of the words calls up.
I The first statement is that MEN, LIKE BEASTS, ARE CREATURES OF ACCIDENT. (Ver. 19a.) Not that they are both the results of blind chance; but that, "being conditioned by circumstances over which there can be no control, they are subject, in respect to their whole being, actions, and sufferings, as far as mere human observation can extend, to the law of chance, and are alike destined to undergo the same fate, i.e. death" (Wright). A parallel to the thought of this verse is to be found in the very striking words of Solon to Croesus (Herodotus, 1:32), "Man is altogether a chance;" and in Psa_49:14, Psa_49:20, "Like sheep they are laid in the grave Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
II The second statement is that As IS THE DEATH OF THE ONE, SO IS THE DEATH OF THE OTHER (ver. 19b), for in both is the breath of life, and this departs from them in like manner. So that any superiority on the part of man over the beast is incredible in the face of this fact, that death annuls distinctions between them. One resting-place receives them all at last the earth from which they sprang (ver. 20). A belief in the immortality of the soul of man would at once have relieved the gloom, and convinced the Preacher that the humiliating comparison he institutes only reaches to a certain point, and is based upon the external accidents of human life, and that the true dignity and value of human nature remain unaffected by the mortality of the corporeal part of our being. "Put aside the belief in the prolongation of existence after death, that what has been begun here may be completed, and what has gone wrong here may be set right, and man is but a more highly organized animal, the "cunningest of nature"s clocks," and the high words which men speak as to his greatness are found hollow. They too are "vanity." He differs from the brutes around him only, or chiefly, in having, what they have not, the burden of unsatisfied desires, the longing after an eternity which after all is denied him" (Plumptre).
III The third statement is the saddest of all that of THE UNCERTAINTY OF KNOWLEDGE AS TO WHETHER, AFTER ALL, THERE IS THIS HIGHER ELEMENT IN HUMAN NATURE spirit that at death goeth upward or whether the living principles of both man and beast perish when their bodies are laid in the dust (ver. 21).
It is quite fruitless to deny that it is a skeptical question that is asked If the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth, who knows that that of man goeth upward? Attempts have been made to obliterate the skepticism of the passage, as may be seen in the Massoretic punctuation followed in the Authorized Version of our English Bible, but departed from in the Revised Version, "Who knoweth the spirit of mall that. goeth upward," etc.? as though an ascent of the spirit to a higher life were affirmed. The rendering of the four principal versions, and of all the best critics, convinces us that it is indeed a skeptical question as to the immortality of the soul that is here asked. A very similar passage is found in the great poem of Lucretius (1. 113-116)
We know not what the nature of the soul, Or born or entering into men at birth, Or whether with our frame it perisheth, Or treads the gloom and regions vast of death.
It is to be noted, however, about both the question of the Preacher and the words of the heathen poet, that they do not contain a denial of immortality, but a longing after more knowledge resting on sufficient grounds. Sad and depressing as uncertainty on such a point is to a sensitive mind, a denial of immortality would he infinitely worse; it would mean the death of all hope. The very suggestion of a higher life for man, after "this mortal coil has been shuffled off," than for the beast implies that, far from denying the immortality of the soul, the writer seeks fur adequate ground on which to hold it. Arguments in favor of the doctrine of immortality were not wanting to the Preacher. He has just spoken of the desiderium aeternitatis implanted in the heart of man (ver. 11), which, like the instincts of the lower creation, is given by the Creator for our guidance, and not to tantalize and deceive us. The inequalities anti evils of the present life render a final judgment in a world beyond the grave a moral necessity. (Ecc_12:14) But still these are, after all, but indirect arguments, which have not the weight of positive demonstration. It is only faith that can return any certain reply to his doubting question; its weight, thrown into the balance, inclines it to the hopeful side. And this happy conclusion lie reached at last, as he distinctly affirms in Ecc_12:7, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and- the spirit shall return unto God. who gave it." That the Preacher should ever have doubted this great truth, and spoken as though no certainty concerning it were within the reach of man, need not surprise us. In the revelation given to the Jewish people, the doctrine of rewards and punishments in a future state was not set forth. The rewards and punishments for obedience to the Law, and for transgressions against it, were all temporal. Almost nothing was communicated touching the existence of the soul after death. In the passage quoted by Christ in the Gospels, for the confutation of the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, the doctrine of immortality is implied rather than stated. (Mat_22:23-32) And in a matter so far beyond the power of the human intellect to search out, the absence of a word of revelation rendered the darkness doubly obscure. It is, however, utterly monstrous for any of us now who believe in Christ to ask the question, "Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward?" The revelation given us by him is full of light on this point. "He hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel". (2Ti_1:10) His own resurrection from the dead, and ascension to heaven is the proof of a life beyond the grave, and a pledge to all who believe in him of a future and an everlasting life. It was not wonderful that the Preacher, in the then stage of religious knowledge, should have spoken as he does here; but nothing could justify us, to whom so much fresh light has been given, in using his words, as though we were in the same condition with him.
IV The fourth and concluding statement is, strangely enough, that since we know not what will come after death, A CHEERFUL ENJOYMENT OF THE PRESENT is the best course one can take. This is the third time he has given this counsel. (Ecc_2:24 Ecc_3:12, Ecc_3:13) A calm and happy life, healthy labor, and tranquil enjoyment, are to be valued and token advantage of to the full. It is an Epicureanism of a spiritual cast that he commends, and not the coarse and degraded animalism of those who say, "Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die." He recognizes the good gifts of the present as a "portion" given by God, and says Rejoice in them, though the future be all unknown. The very gloom out of which his words spring give a dignity to them. "We feel that we are in the presence of one who has the germ given him of some courage, equanimity, and calmness, which may grow into other and better things. His spirit is torn by, suffers with, all the pangs that beset the inquiring human heart. He feels for all the woes of humanity; cannot put them by, and fly to the wine-cup and crown himself with garlands. He has hated life, yet he will not lose his courage. "Be of good cheer," he says, even in his dark hour; "work on, and enjoy the fruits of work; it is thy portion. Do not curse God and die (Bradley). His words are not, as they might seem. at first, frivolous and heartless. It is a calm and peaceful happiness, a life of honest endeavor and of single-hearted enjoyment of innocent pleasures, that he commends; and, after all, it is only by genuine faith in God that such a life is possible a faith that enables one to rise above all that is dark and mysterious and perplexing in the world about us. J.W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth…
Ecc_3:19-21
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts.
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Man and beast
It is difficult to determine the exact object of Ecclesiastes in instituting this comparison: partly because the Hebrew is capable, in one or two places, of different translations; and partly because it is possible to take very different views of the connection between the two things which Ecclesiastes had said in his heart. One view which may be taken of this connection is that Ecclesiastes, having recorded his conviction that the righteous God will yet judge between the righteous and the wicked, goes on to record how he had speculated as to the reason why God does not always execute this judgment here and now. It had occurred to him that the reason of this might be to prove or test men, and to show them that, in and of themselves, they were liable to degenerate into a mere animal life. There is for man both probation and self-revelation in the fact that God does not visit all wickedness with immediate and manifest punishment. If a man thrusts his hand into the fire it is at once burnt: the suffering follows immediately on the action, and the man is not likely to do the same thing again. Now, if all violations of the moral law were followed likewise by such immediate and manifest consequences, there might be a test of human prudence, but there would scarcely be any test of human virtue. If, for example, every man who should commit an act of dishonesty were--at once and without fail--to be stricken with paralysis, there would be no more virtue in honesty than there is now in keeping ones hand out of the fire. But the fact that God often postpones the manifest punishment of iniquity, and allows wicked men sometimes even to trample upon the righteous with apparent impunity, affords a test of moral character, and leaves room for the exercise of virtues which are the result, not of mere prudence, but of an actual allegiance to God and righteousness. And this kind of probation, to which men are subjected, becomes an instrument of self-revelation. Men see how much of the animal there is in their nature. The spirit of man, indeed, goeth upward at death; and the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth: but who knoweth the exact difference between the two? The difference of destination does not make itself manifest to the senses. To all outward appearance the dissolution of the man and of the beast is exactly the same kind of thing; the human being does not appear to have any pre-eminence in this respect over the mere animal. Now, all these circumstances and appearances put men to the proof; they test men as to whether they will allow themselves to sink down into a mare animal, selfish life, or whether they will follow those Divine inspirations which link them to God, beckon them to righteousness, and point them to immortality. But there is another and very different view which may be taken of the passage. According to this view, Ecclesiastes is here recording a mood of materialistic scepticism through which he had passed. The two things which he had said in his heart were like the two voices of Tennysons poem--voices conflicting with one another for the mastery, and plunging the soul for a time into doubt and perplexity (verse 21, R.V.). Supposing this, then, to be the real drift of the passage before us, we surely need not be surprised that Ecclesiastes, in presence of the problems of life, should have passed through some such mood of materialistic scepticism. But it would seem that Ecclesiastes did not remain permanently in this sceptical attitude. We may regard him as here telling his readers what he had said in his heart about man and beast: he is not necessarily endorsing it at the time when he writes this book. On the contrary, it would appear from other passages that he was now clinging to the assurance that God would yet judge between righteous and wicked men, and that the spirit of man does not perish at death. Now, if Ecclesiastes could thus, with the light he had, arrive at the final conviction that the human spirit survives the dissolution of the body, surely we, in the fuller light of the Christian revelation, may well overcome the chilling doubts which may sometimes creep in upon our souls. Events, indeed, sometimes occur in the providence of God, which utterly baffle our understanding, and which seem almost to deal with men as if they were mere animals. Catastrophes happen, in which men seem to be taken as if they were fishes of the sea. The most brilliant thinker suddenly meets with a blow on the head which robs him, for a time, of all power of thought. Such things as these may stagger us. But we recover faith when we look to Jesus Christ as the Light of the World, and the Revealer of the Father. He who gave His Son to die for us, and who has led us to trust in His own fatherly love will not let us go down into nothingness. He who died for us and rose again has shown Himself to be the conqueror of death; and, because He lives, we shall live also. Glorying in His character and cross, and receiving into our hearts somewhat of His own spirit, we become conscious of thoughts, motives, and aspirations which raise us above our mere animal nature and contain within themselves the earnest of immortality. (T. C. Finlayson.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v19 Ecc_3:22. For who shall bring him to see what…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Ecc_3:22. For who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?] Man cannot tell what God will do in the future with all his earthly circumstances—how far, in the great future, they will be modified or destroyed. Hence riches, &c., must have many elements of uncertainty. Therefore enjoy the present.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Ecc_3:19-22
THE DOUBT OF IMMORTALITY
There are times when the most assured truths are questioned. The Royal Preacher assumes the sceptic, and allows the appearances of things to cast on him the dismal shadow of doubt.
I. This doubt may arise from the identity of the outward conditions both of man and the lower animals. In the features of their physical existence, they are so much alike that one may be tempted to predict for them a common fate—total extinction at death.
1. They appear to be both alike under the dominion of chance. (Ecc_3:19.) “Befalleth”—i.e., they are mere chance, in the sense of being subject to it. They have not the free determination of their own lot. We apply the term chance to describe those occurrences whose causes are obscure. Those things upon which life mostly depends are wholly out of the power alike of men and beasts. They both appear to be the sport of innumerable chances.
2. Both are informed by the same principle of life. (Ecc_3:19.) “One breath.” In the essential qualities of physical life, our nature can boast no pre-eminence. The beasts, like ourselves, are supported by the products of the earth, and draw the vital air. They follow the same analogy of physical construction. They are liable to disease, danger, and accident.
3. They have both the same origin and destiny. As far as outward appearance is concerned, no difference can be detected in the two extremes of their existence. They all come from the dust, and return to the dust again.
II. This doubt is strengthened by our complete ignorance of a future life. (Ecc_3:21.) We may, indeed, speak of the spirit of man going “upward,” and the spirit of the beast going “downward,” yet the difference is too subtle to be easily discerned. “Who knoweth?” In the absence of any certain information, who can make a positive assertion?
1. We have no experience of a superior life for man. Knowledge does increase through ages, but humanity has gathered no experience of any life beyond this world. No one has returned from the other shores of life to tell the mysterious secret. The eternal silence of the grave strengthens doubt.
2. Human reason is powerless to give us any assurance of such a life. Reason may give us probable grounds for believing that there may be such a destiny for man, but it cannot give us a certainty. We may reason ourselves, almost with equal facility, into a belief for or against immortality. And in the similarity of the fates both of men and beasts, it is hard to discover the difference. There are times when the sense of immortality is not strong.
3. Some have accepted materialism as a doctrine. The blank ignorance of man upon the subject, together with appearances, have led them to adopt the dismal creed of hopeless extinction in the grave. Consider the wail of despair which marks some of the ancient poetry. St. Paul tells us the heathen had “no hope.” The very existence of doubt implies that there is some evidence on the other side of the question.
III. This doubt ought not to interfere with the enjoyment of the present. In the darkest seasons of doubt, there are some manifest duties. Whatever be our fate when life is ended, some clear path lies before us now. Man can enjoy his portion.
1. The present life affords scope for such enjoyment. No one thought, however tremendous or awful it may be, can ever be present to the mind. The short tenure of existence here, the dread certainty of death, does not prevent mankind from enjoying the present world.
2. No other arrangement will be made for man in this life. (Ecc_3:22.) “That is his portion;” when he has once departed from life, he cannot enjoy it again. Each life is a measured portion once for all.
3. We are unable either to command or to look into the future. A man cannot tell what shall be after him, even in his own immediate circle. He cannot shape the future according to his own views or wishes. It is vain for a man to trouble himself much regarding that over which he can have no command, and which is hopelessly concealed from him.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc_3:19. If one questioned the eyes and judgment without listening to the Word of God, human life would appear to be governed by mere chance to such an extent that men would seem to be, as it were, like a great ant-hill, and like ants to be crushed. But the revelation of the Divine Word must be placed in contrast with this appearance [Melanchthon].
In building up the science of material things we learn to correct appearances—the reports of sense—by the convictions of reason. So the dark and melancholy appearances of life around us must be corrected by the light of faith.
On this, the human side of life, all is seeming confusion, as if chance and accident held dominion. He who looks no further has sufficient occasion for doubt and denial. We cannot see life clearly unless we see it in God’s light.
The anatomist can only examine the structure of the organs of physical life. The immortal creature cannot be investigated by the scalpel.
The sense discovers, both in man and beast, the same wave of life beating to and fro. He who only regards the physical part of our nature may believe, without difficulty, that the same dark fate is reserved for both.
Ecc_3:20. The lowly origin and destiny of the material part of our nature should be—a motive for humility—a rebuke to arrogance—a reason for seeking the imperishable.
It is but one place, there be no upper and lower places in death; but how different soever the places of men may be while they lived, when they die, they are all in the same place; yea, beasts are in the same place with the wisest, the richest, and the greatest men. And there indeed is their journey’s end [Jermin].
All that live are borne onwards by an irresistible decree, from dust to dust.
The degradation to which our physical nature must come when life is ended is a sore trial to faith. It seems as if we lose existence then. Faith, in seeking to grasp eternal life, has, after all, to leap a precipice.
Ecc_3:21. Man’s superior destiny in the great future, is a truth not unattainable, yet still difficult to be known. It has been hid from many, and by others has been obscured by sensuality, and devotion to this present world.
The common eye cannot trace human existence beyond the last scene of all. The image of God’s immortality stamped upon man cannot be discerned on this side of life, yet faith gets a glimpse thereof as reflected in the mirror of God’s word.
The philosophers were much turmoiled and very busy in seeking after the nature of the soul. Tertullian describes them as in a wood, wherein if they saw any light of truth, it is only glimpses of it through the thick trees of ignorance and errors; and wherein if any shall seek for the truth, he shall seek it in a wood. Surely there is no better manifester of the soul than He who is the Maker of it, and that is God Himself [Jermin].
Can anything be more marvellous or startling, unless we were used to it, than that we should have a race of beings about us whom we do but see, and as little know their state, or can describe their interests or their destiny, as we can tell the inhabitants of the sun and moon? We have more real knowledge about the angels than about the brutes. They have apparently passions, habits, and a certain accountableness, but all is mystery about them. We do not know whether they can sin or not, whether they are under punishment, whether they are to live after this life … Is it not plain to our senses that there is a world inferior to us in the scale of beings, with which we are connected without understanding what it is? [J. H. Newman.]
Ecc_3:22. Only the moment that we live in life is our possession. Every hour lived sinks irrevocably into the sea of the past; the future is uncertain. Therefore is he a fool who lets the present slip by unused, wastes it in vain amusement, or grieves with useless lamentations [Wohlfarth].
It is our duty to do the best with that which lies to hand, and not consume ourselves with vain longings after an ideal state. We must accept the conditions of our earthly existence as a fact, and we ought to lighten their burden by the spirit of joy.
With a firm conviction of the duty which the present demands, the tasks of life, though in themselves grievous, may be set to the music of the soul.
No second lease of life will be granted us. We should therefore act well in the present, so that we might await with confidence the mysterious crown of eternity.
The future is all uncertain. We cannot forecast history; or, to come closer home, that smaller portion of it interwoven with our own life and labours. Yet we may be assured that if we are good and true, the future hides nothing in it that can vanquish or distress us.
Within the vague and solemn mystery which rounds our little life here, there is yet some room for cheerfulness, contentment, and hope.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 19, 21 I said in my heart
I said in my heart
Here the author refers to himself by his "heart" to emphasize his feelings. AT: "I said to myself" (See: Synecdoche)
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they are like animals
Here the author says that human beings are like animals. In the next verse the author explains clearly how humans are like animals. (See: Simile)
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unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19–21 3:19 With respect to breathing and dying, people have…
3:19 With respect to breathing and dying, people have no real advantage over the animals, but we have other advantages (e.g., see Gen 1:26-28).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.