Ecclesiastes 3:19

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For 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.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Ps 49:12 : 12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.
  • Ps 49:20 : 20 Wealthy people do not understand; they are like animals that perish.
  • Ps 89:47-48 : 47 Take note of my brief lifespan! Why do you make all people so mortal? 48 No man can live on without experiencing death, or deliver his life from the power of Sheol.(Selah)
  • Ps 92:6-7 : 6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this; the fool does not understand this. 7 When the wicked sprout up like grass, and all the evildoers glisten, it is so that they may be annihilated.
  • Ps 104:29 : 29 When you ignore them, they panic. When you take away their life’s breath, they die and return to dust.
  • Eccl 2:14 : 14 The 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.
  • Eccl 2:16 : 16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!
  • Eccl 2:20-23 : 20 So I began to despair about all the fruit of my labor for which I worked so hard on earth. 21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice! 22 Painful Days and Restless Nights What does a man acquire from all his labor and from the anxiety that accompanies his toil on earth? 23 For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!
  • 2 Sam 14:14 : 14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored.
  • Job 14:10-12 : 10 But man dies and is powerless; he expires– and where is he? 11 As water disappears from the sea, or a river drains away and dries up, 12 so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.
  • Ps 39:5-6 : 5 Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor.(Selah) 6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. Surely they accumulate worthless wealth without knowing who will eventually haul it away.”

Similar Verses (AI)

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

  • Eccl 3:20-22
    3 verses
    87%

    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 3:18
    86%

    18I also thought to myself,“It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.

  • Eccl 9:1-5
    5 verses
    79%

    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.

    2Everyone shares the same fate– the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the ceremonially clean and unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. What happens to the good person, also happens to the sinner; what happens to those who make vows, also happens to those who are afraid to make vows.

    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.

    4Better to Be Poor but Alive than Rich but Dead But whoever is among the living has hope; a live dog is better than a dead lion.

    5For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything; they have no further reward– and even the memory of them disappears.

  • Eccl 6:10-12
    3 verses
    78%

    10The Futile Way Life Works Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

    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.

  • Ps 49:12
    77%

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

  • Eccl 12:7-8
    2 verses
    77%

    7and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath returns to God who gave it.

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

  • Job 34:15
    76%

    15all flesh would perish together and human beings would return to dust.

  • Eccl 1:2-3
    2 verses
    76%

    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 4:16
    76%

    16There is no end to all the people nor to the past generations, yet future generations will not rejoice in him. This also is profitless and like chasing the wind.

  • Eccl 2:19
    75%

    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!

  • Eccl 2:15-17
    3 verses
    75%

    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!”

    16For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies– just like the fool!

    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.

  • Eccl 1:14
    75%

    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 8:14
    75%

    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.”

  • Eccl 2:11
    74%

    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.”

  • Eccl 1:9
    74%

    9What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

  • Eccl 5:16
    73%

    16This is another misfortune: Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?

  • Eccl 2:21-24
    4 verses
    73%

    21For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; however, he must hand over the fruit of his labor as an inheritance to someone else who did not work for it. This also is futile, and an awful injustice!

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

    23For all day long his work produces pain and frustration, and even at night his mind cannot relax! This also is futile!

    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.

  • Eccl 3:12
    73%

    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,

  • Ps 144:4
    73%

    4People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears.

  • Eccl 4:4
    73%

    4Labor Motivated by Envy Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless– like chasing the wind.

  • Eccl 8:9-10
    2 verses
    73%

    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.

  • Eccl 3:10
    73%

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

  • Eccl 6:1
    73%

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

  • Eccl 6:6-8
    3 verses
    73%

    6if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity. For both of them die!

    7All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach– yet his appetite is never satisfied!

    8So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?

  • Job 14:10
    73%

    10But man dies and is powerless; he expires– and where is he?

  • Eccl 11:8
    72%

    8So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all, but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many– all that is about to come is obscure.

  • Eccl 8:17
    72%

    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.

  • Ps 49:20
    72%

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

  • Eccl 3:15
    72%

    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.

  • Eccl 7:15
    72%

    15Exceptions to the Law of Retribution During the days of my fleeting life I have seen both of these things: Sometimes a righteous person dies prematurely in spite of his righteousness, and sometimes a wicked person lives long in spite of his evil deeds.

  • Ps 49:10
    72%

    10Surely one sees that even wise people die; fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away and leave their wealth to others.

  • Eccl 4:8
    72%

    8A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments,“For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is futile and a burdensome task!