Ecclesiastes 3:19

19 Also to them is the event of the sons of man, and the event of the brute; one event befalls them: as is the death of the one, so also the death of the other; and there is one breath to all: and what has the man more than the brute? nothing; for all is vanity.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 3:19

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts,
&c.] 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 both perished in it; several of the plagues of Egypt were inflicted on both; and both are beholden to God for their health, preservation, and safety; see ( Genesis 7:21 ) ( Exodus 8:18 ) ( Exodus 9:9 Exodus 9:25 ) ( Psalms 36:6 ) ; as the one dieth, so dieth the other;
the Targum compares a wicked man and an unclean beast together, in the former clause; and paraphrases this after this manner,

``as an unclean beast dies, so dies he who is not turned to repentance before his death:''

he dies unclean in his sins, stupid, senseless; no more thoughtful of his future state, and of what will become of his precious and immortal soul, than a beast that has none; see ( Psalms 49:14 ) ; perhaps unjust judges, persecuting tyrants, may particularly be regarded: who, though princes, shall not only die like men, but even like beasts, ( Psalms 82:7 ) ; yea, they have all one breath;
the same vital breath, or breath of life, which is in the nostrils of the one as of the other; they breathe and draw in the same air, and have the same animal and vegetative life, and equally liable to lose it, ( Genesis 2:7 ) ( 7:22 ) ; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast:
he has reason and speech, which a beast has not; which gives him a preference to them, did he make a right use of them; but, as an animal, he has no preeminence, being liable to the same accidents, and to death itself: the Targum excepts the house of the grave, man being usually buried when he dies, but a beast is not: yea, in some things a beast has the preeminence of a man; at least some have, in strength, agility, quickness of the senses for all [is] vanity;
all the gratifications of the senses; all riches, honours, pleasures, power, and authority, especially when abused.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 In-Context

17 And I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the ungodly: for there is a time there for every action and for every work.

18 I said in my heart, concerning the speech of the sons of man, God will judge them, and that to shew that they are breasts.

19 Also to them is the event of the sons of man, and the event of the brute; one event befalls them: as is the death of the one, so also the death of the other; and there is one breath to all: and what has the man more than the brute? nothing; for all is vanity.

20 All to one place; all were formed of the dust, and all will return to dust.

21 And who has seen the spirit of the sons of man, whether it goes upward? and the spirit of the beast, whether it goes downward to the earth?