Ecclesiastes 3:18

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.”

Majority Standard Bible

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, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, since there is a time for every activity and every deed.”

19For 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.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 3

Cross References

Job 14:1“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.

Job 40:8Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

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 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 73:22I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.

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.”

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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Study Ecclesiastes 3:18