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.” 19 For 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. 20 All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
Ecclesiastes 3:18–20
Semantically similar passages
Ecclesiastes 9:2–4
2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one…
Ecclesiastes 2:15–17
15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile. 16 For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise, just as with the fool, seeing that both will be forgotten in… 17 …
Psalms 49:11–13
11 Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their lands were their namesakes. 12 But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the fate of the self-confident and their follow…
Job 9:21–23
21 Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life. 22 It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ 23 When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.
Job 34:14–16
14 If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath, 15 all flesh would perish together and mankind would return to the dust. 16 If you have understanding, hear this; listen to my words.
Ecclesiastes 1:13–15
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the… 15 …
Ecclesiastes 12:6–8
6 Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, 7 before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Ecclesiastes 1:1–3
1 These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2 “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” 3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun?
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