Ecclesiastes 3:18

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

I also thought to myself,“It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 73:22 : 22 I was ignorant and lacked insight; I was as senseless as an animal before you.
  • Gen 3:17-19 : 17 But to Adam he said,“Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
  • Job 14:1-4 : 1 The Brevity of Life“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble. 2 He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain. 3 Do you fix your eye on such a one? And do you bring me before you for judgment? 4 Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean? No one!
  • Job 15:16 : 16 how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, who drinks in evil like water!
  • Job 40:8 : 8 Would you indeed annul my justice? Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
  • Ps 49:12 : 12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.
  • Ps 49:14 : 14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep, with death as their shepherd. The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns; Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses.
  • Ps 49:19-20 : 19 But he will join his ancestors; they will never again see the light of day. 20 Wealthy people do not understand; they are like animals that perish.
  • Ps 51:4 : 4 Against you– you above all– I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.
  • Ps 73:18-19 : 18 Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin. 19 How desolate they become in a mere moment! Terrifying judgments make their demise complete!
  • Ps 90:5-9 : 5 You bring their lives to an end and they“fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up; 6 in the morning it glistens and sprouts up; at evening time it withers and dries up. 7 Yes, we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. 8 You are aware of our sins; you even know about our hidden sins. 9 Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. 10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is especially strong. But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away. 11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? Your raging fury causes people to fear you. 12 So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely.
  • Rom 3:4 : 4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar, just as it is written:“so that you will be justified in your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
  • Rom 9:23 : 23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory–
  • Heb 9:27 : 27 And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment,
  • 1 Pet 1:24 : 24 For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls off,
  • 2 Pet 2:12 : 12 But these men, like irrational animals– creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed– do not understand whom they are insulting, and consequently in their destruction they will be destroyed,

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Eccl 3:19-22
    4 verses
    86%

    19For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting.

    20Both go to the same place, both come from the dust, and to dust both return.

    21Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

    22So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?

  • Eccl 2:14-15
    2 verses
    79%

    14The wise man can see where he is going, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also realized that the same fate happens to them both.

    15So I thought to myself,“The fate of the fool will happen even to me! Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively wise?” So I lamented to myself,“The benefits of wisdom are ultimately meaningless!”

  • Eccl 9:3
    78%

    3This is the unfortunate fact about everything that happens on earth: the same fate awaits everyone. In addition to this, the hearts of all people are full of evil, and there is folly in their hearts during their lives– then they die.

  • Eccl 3:15-17
    3 verses
    78%

    15Whatever exists now has already been, and whatever will be has already been; for God will seek to do again what has occurred in the past.

    16The Problem of Injustice and Oppression I saw something else on earth: In the place of justice, there was wickedness, and in the place of fairness, there was wickedness.

    17I thought to myself,“God will judge both the righteous and the wicked; for there is an appropriate time for every activity, and there is a time of judgment for every deed.

  • Eccl 3:10-12
    3 verses
    77%

    10I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied.

    11God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

    12Enjoy Life in the Present I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live,

  • Eccl 1:13-14
    2 verses
    77%

    13I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied.

    14I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile– like chasing the wind!

  • Eccl 2:1-3
    3 verses
    76%

    1Futility of Self-Indulgent Pleasure I thought to myself,“Come now, I will try self-indulgent pleasure to see if it is worthwhile.” But I found that it also is futile.

    2I said of partying,“It is folly,” and of self-indulgent pleasure,“It accomplishes nothing!”

    3I thought deeply about the effects of indulging myself with wine(all the while my mind was guiding me with wisdom) and the effects of behaving foolishly, so that I might discover what is profitable for people to do on earth during the few days of their lives.

  • Eccl 6:11-12
    2 verses
    75%

    11The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes. How does that benefit him?

    12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life– during the few days of his fleeting life– for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.

  • Eccl 1:16-17
    2 verses
    75%

    16Futility of Secular Wisdom I thought to myself,“I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

    17So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind!

  • Eccl 9:1
    74%

    1Everyone Will Die So I reflected on all this, attempting to clear it all up. I concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God; whether a person will be loved or hated– no one knows what lies ahead.

  • Eccl 8:14
    74%

    14Here is another enigma that occurs on earth: Sometimes there are righteous people who get what the wicked deserve, and sometimes there are wicked people who get what the righteous deserve. I said,“This also is an enigma.”

  • Job 18:3
    74%

    3Why should we be regarded as beasts, and considered stupid in your sight?

  • Eccl 2:17-20
    4 verses
    74%

    17So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile– like chasing the wind.

    18Futility of Being a Workaholic So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

    19Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be master over all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so wisely on earth! This also is futile!

    20So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth.

  • Eccl 8:9-11
    3 verses
    74%

    9While applying my mind to everything that happens in this world, I have seen all this: Sometimes one person dominates other people to their harm.

    10Contradictions to the Law of Retribution Not only that, but I have seen the wicked approaching and entering the temple, and as they left the holy temple, they boasted in the city that they had done so. This also is an enigma.

    11When a sentence is not executed at once against a crime, the human heart is encouraged to do evil.

  • Eccl 8:16-17
    2 verses
    74%

    16Limitations of Human Wisdom When I tried to gain wisdom and to observe the activity on earth– even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night–

    17then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.

  • Eccl 6:1
    74%

    1Not Everyone Enjoys Life Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth, and it weighs heavily on people:

  • Eccl 2:11-12
    2 verses
    73%

    11Yet when I reflected on everything I had accomplished and on all the effort that I had expended to accomplish it, I concluded:“All these achievements and possessions are ultimately profitless– like chasing the wind! There is nothing gained from them on earth.”

    12Wisdom is Better than Folly Next, I decided to consider wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas. For what more can the king’s successor do than what the king has already done?

  • Ps 8:7
    73%

    7including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals,

  • Eccl 12:8
    72%

    8Concluding Refrain: Qoheleth Restates His Thesis“Absolutely futile!” laments the Teacher,“All of these things are futile!”

  • Eccl 1:2-3
    2 verses
    72%

    2Introduction: Utter Futility“Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher,“Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!”

    3Futility Illustrated from Nature What benefit do people get from all the effort which they expend on earth?

  • Eccl 9:13
    72%

    13Most People Are Not Receptive to Wise Counsel This is what I also observed about wisdom on earth, and it is a great burden to me:

  • Ps 49:12
    72%

    12but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.

  • Eccl 8:6
    72%

    6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, for the oppression of the king is severe upon his victim.

  • Eccl 2:24
    71%

    24Enjoy Work and its Benefits There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work. I also perceived that this ability to find enjoyment comes from God.

  • Ps 49:20
    71%

    20Wealthy people do not understand; they are like animals that perish.

  • Eccl 2:22
    71%

    22Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth?

  • Eccl 7:25
    71%

    25True Righteousness and Wisdom Are Virtually Nonexistent I tried to understand, examine, and comprehend the role of wisdom in the scheme of things, and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the insanity of folly.

  • Job 7:17
    71%

    17Insignificance of Humans“What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them?

  • Eccl 4:3
    71%

    3But better than both is the one who has not been born and has not seen the evil things that are done on earth.