18 Like the leaves flourishing on a thick tree, some it sheds, and some grow, so also are the generations of flesh and blood: one comes to an end and another is born. (WEB) 19 Every work rots and falls away, and its builder will depart with it. (WEB) 20 Blessed is the man who meditates on wisdom, and who reasons by his understanding. (WEB)
Sirach 14:18–20
Semantically similar passages
Job 14:1–3
1 “Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble. 2 Like a flower, he comes forth, then withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. 3 Do You open Your eyes to one like this? Will You bring him into judgment before You?
1 Maccabees 2:62–64
62 Don’t be afraid of the words of a sinful man; for his glory will be dung and worms. (WEB) 63 Today he will be lifted up, and tomorrow he will in no way be found, because he has returned to dust, and his thought has perished. (WEB) 64 You, my children, be strong, and show yoursel… (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 1:3–5
3 What does a man gain from all his labor, at which he toils under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
Psalms 49:9–11
9 that he should live on forever and not see decay. 10 For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their graves are their eternal homes— their dwellings for endless generations— even though their…
Psalms 144:3–5
3 O LORD, what is man, that You regard him, the son of man that You think of him? 4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. 5 Part Your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
Wisdom of Solomon 5:8–10
8 What did our arrogance profit us? What good have riches and boasting brought us? (WEB) 9 Those things all passed away as a shadow, like a rumor that runs by, (WEB) 10 like a ship passing through the billowy water, which, when it has gone by, there is no trace to be found, no pa… (WEB)
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 103:15–17
15 As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field; 16 when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more. 17 But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His rig…
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