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.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- 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.
- NKJV For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity.
- NASB For the fate of the sons of mankind and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for mankind over animals, for all is futility.
- NLT For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Both humans and animals share the same breath and the same death, so in this respect man has no advantage. Observed from 'under the sun,' mortality levels man and beast alike.
Overview
The Preacher emphasizes the shared fate of physical death common to humans and animals. Viewed merely 'under the sun,' this similarity makes human life seem no more enduring than the beasts'. This sober observation is not the whole of Scripture's teaching on humanity's distinct destiny, but it underscores our need for the resurrection hope that lies beyond death in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 49:12Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
- Ps 49:20Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
- Job 14:10–12But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
- Eccl 2:20–23Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
- Eccl 2:14The 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.
- Ps 39:5–6Behold, 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.
- Ps 89:47–48Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?
- Ps 104:29Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
- 2 Sam 14:14For 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.
- Eccl 2:16For 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.
- Ps 92:6–7A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 3:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.