Ecclesiastes 3:18

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 [are] beasts.

Literal Standard Version

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

17I said in my heart, “The righteous and the wicked God judges, for a time [is] to every matter and for every work there.”

19For 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.

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Cross References

Job 14:1“Man, born of woman! Of few days, and full of trouble!

Job 40:8Do you also make My judgment void? Do you condemn Me, || That you may be righteous?

Psalms 49:14They have set themselves as sheep for Sheol, || Death afflicts them, || And the upright rule over them in the morning, || And their form [is] for consumption. Sheol [is] a dwelling for him.

Psalms 51:4Against You, You only, I have sinned, || And done evil in Your eyes, || So that You are righteous in Your words, || You are pure in Your judging.

Psalms 73:22And I am brutish, and do not know. I have been a beast with You.

Romans 3:4Let it not be! And let God become true, and every man false, according as it has been written: “That You may be declared righteous in Your words, and may overcome in Your being judged.”

Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 3:17-22

Immutability of God's Counsel; The Extent of Mortality. 16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 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. 19 For that which befalleth the… Read the whole commentary →

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