Ecclesiastes 3:19
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“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.”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 3:19 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“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.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“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.”
King James Version · Public Domain“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.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“For an event <FI>is to<Fi> the sons of man, and an event <FI>is to<Fi> the beasts, even one event <FI>is<Fi> to them; as the death of this, so <FI>is<Fi> the death of that; and one spirit <FI>is<Fi> to all, and the advantage of man above the beast is nothing, for the whole <FI>is<Fi> vanity.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 3:19 — 14 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Samuel 14:14For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.
- Job 14:10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
- Psalms 39:5You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
- Psalms 49:12But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
- Psalms 49:13This is the fate of the self-confident and their followers who endorse their sayings. Selah
- Psalms 49:20A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
- Psalms 89:47Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men!
- Psalms 92:6A senseless man does not know, and a fool does not understand,
- Psalms 104:29When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust.
- Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 1:17So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 2:14The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.
- Ecclesiastes 2:16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in the days to come. Alas, the wise man will die just like the fool!
- Ecclesiastes 2:20So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).