Ecclesiastes 3:18
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.””
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 3:18 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.””
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“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.”
King James Version · Public Domain“I said in my heart, It isbecause of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves <FI>are<Fi> beasts.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 3:18 — 16 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Genesis 3:17And to Adam He said: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
- Job 14:1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.
- Job 15:16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
- Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?
- Psalms 49:12But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
- Psalms 49:14Like sheep they are destined for Sheol. Death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning, and their form will decay in Sheol, far from their lofty abode.
- Psalms 49:19he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of day.
- Psalms 51:4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge.
- Psalms 73:18Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Psalms 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.
- Psalms 90:5You whisk them away in their sleep; they are like the new grass of the morning—
- Romans 3:4Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
- Romans 9:23What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—
- Hebrews 9:27Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
- 1 Peter 1:24For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
- 2 Peter 2:12These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).