Ecclesiastes 3:19

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Solomon is still showing that every thing in this world, without piety and the fear of God, is vanity. Take away religion, and there is nothing valuable among men, nothing for the sake of which a wise man would think it worth while to live in this world. In these verses he shows that power (than which there is nothing men are more ambitious of) and life itself (than which there is nothing men are more fond, more jealous of) are nothing without the fear of God. I. Here is the vanity of man as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:19

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts ,.... Aben Ezra says this verse is according to the thoughts of the children of men that are not wise; but rather the wise man says what he does according to his own thoughts, and proceeds to prove the likeness and equality of men and beasts; even one thing befalleth them ; the same events belong to one as to another; the same diseases and disasters, calamities and distresses: Noah's flood carried away one as well as another; they... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:19

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts - From the present comparison of great men to beasts, the author takes occasion to enforce the subject by mentioning the state of mankind in general, with respect to the mortality of their bodies; and then, by an easy transition, touches in the next verse on the point which is of such infinite consequence to religion. As the one dieth, so dieth the other - Animal life is the same both in the man and in the beast. They have all... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Section 4. In confirmation of the truth that man's happiness depends upon the will of God, Koheleth proceeds to show how Providence arranges even the minutest concerns; that man can alter nothing, must make the best of things as they are, bear with anomalies, bounding his desires by this present life. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Acknowledging the providential government of God, which controls events and places man's happiness out of his own power, one is confronted also by the fact that there is much wickedness, much injustice, in the world, which oppose all plans for peaceful enjoyment. Doubtless there shall be a day of retribution for such iniquities; and God allows them now in order to try men and to teach them humility. Meantime man's duty and happiness consist, as before said, in making the best use of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:19

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts ; literally, chance are the sons of men , and chance are beasts (see on Ecclesiastes 2:14 ); Septuagint, " Yea , and to them cometh the event ( συνάντηημα ) of the sons of men, and the event of the beast ." Koheleth explains in what respect man is on a level with the brute creation. Neither are able to rise superior to the law that controls their natural life. So Solon says to Croesus (Herod; 1:32), πᾶν ἐστι... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

are best regarded as a parenthesis explanatory of Ecclesiastes 3:16-18 , elucidating man's impotence in the presence of the anomalies of life. The conclusion in Ecclesiastes 3:22 is connected with Ecclesiastes 3:16-18 . We must acknowledge that there are disorders in the world which we cannot remedy, and which God allows in order to demonstrate our powerlessness; therefore the wisest course is to make the best of present cir-circumstances. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its original form all that was made of the dust of the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 3:19

Ecclesiastes 3:19. For that which befalleth, &c. They are subject to the same diseases, pains, and casualties. So dieth the other As certainly, and no less painfully. They have all one breath One breath of life, which is in their nostrils; by which the beasts perform the same animal functions. For he speaks not here of man’s rational and immortal spirit, nor of the future life. So that a man hath no pre-eminence, &c. In respect of the present life. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Injustice in the world (3:16-4:3)Having acknowledged God’s order in human events, the writer now observes that the ‘order’ is, at times, not very orderly. For example, injustice abounds (16). Maybe, thinks the writer, God will put everything right in a judgment day in the afterlife (17). On the other hand, thinks he, there may not be an afterlife. He observes that people die the same as animals, as if God is trying to show that they are no different from the beasts. Also, he asks, can it be... read more

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