the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Updated Bible Version
Ecclesiastes 3:18
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I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, "God is testing them in order for them to see that they are but beasts."
I said to myself concerning the sons of men, "God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts."
I communed with myne owne heart also concernyng the children of men, howe God hath chosen them, and yet letteth them appeare as though they were beastes.
I said in my heart, It is thus with the children of men, that God may prove them, and that they should see that they themselves are but beasts.
I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals."
I said in my heart concerning the issue of the sons of men, that God may test them and see that they by themselves are beasts.
I thought about what people do to each other. And I said to myself, "God wants people to see that they are like animals.
I said in my heart, "As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.
I said in my heart concerning the estate of the sonnes of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselues are beasts.
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
I comoned wt myne owne herte also cocernynge the childre of men: how God hath chosen them, and yet letteth the apeare, as though they were beastes:
I said to myself regarding the sons of men, "God is surely testing them in order for them to see that [by themselves, without God] they are [only] animals."
I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.
I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, so that God may put them to the test and that they may see themselves as beasts.
I said in my heart concerning the state of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
I also thought to myself, "It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals.
I know that God is testing us to show us that we are merely animals.
Concerning people, I said to myself, "God is testing them, so that they will see that by themselves they are just animals.
I considered in mine heart the state of the children of men that God had purged them: yet to see to, they are in themselues as beastes.
I meditated in my heart concerning the estate of the sons of men whom God had created, and saw that they are like beasts.
I said in my heart, "As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals.
I said in my heart: 'It is because of the sons of men, that God may sift them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.'
I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals.
I said to myself about the sons of men, "God is testing them to show them that they are like animals."
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.
I said in mine heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.
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."
I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals.
Said, I, in my heart, as concerning the sons of men, That God was minded to prove them, - and that they might see, that they were beasts, of themselves.
I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would prove them, and shew them to be like beasts.
I said to myself concerning humans, "God sifts them in order to show them that they are like beasts."
I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts.
I said to myself regarding the sons of mankind, "God is testing them in order for them to see that they are as animals, they to themselves."
I decided that God leaves it the way it is to test people and to show them they are just like animals.
I decided that God is testing us, to show us that we are no better than animals.
I said to myself, "This happens concerning people, so that God may test them and they may see for themselves that they are like animals."
I seide in myn herte of the sones of men, that God schulde preue hem, and schewe that thei ben lijk vnresonable beestis.
I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men that God is testing them to show them that they are but beasts.
I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves [are] beasts.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
concerning: Genesis 3:17-19, Job 14:1-4, Job 15:16, Psalms 49:14, Psalms 49:19, Psalms 49:20, Psalms 73:18, Psalms 73:19, Psalms 90:5-12, Hebrews 9:27, 1 Peter 1:24
that God: etc. or, that they might clear God, and see, etc. Job 40:8, Psalms 51:4, Romans 3:4, Romans 9:23
and that: Psalms 73:22, 2 Peter 2:12
Reciprocal: Job 11:12 - For vain Job 18:3 - Wherefore Psalms 49:12 - beasts Ecclesiastes 2:1 - said
Cross-References
And Yahweh God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life:
and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed: he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, and a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.
and he said, Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there: Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; blessed be the name of Yahweh.
Whose harvest the hungry eats up, And takes it even out of the thorns; And the snare gapes for their substance.
Let thistles grow instead of wheat, And cockle instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
You turn common man to destruction, And say, Return, you sons of man.
Who cover yourself with light as with a garment; Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain;
Thorns [and] snares are in the way of the perverse: He that keeps his soul shall be far from them.
And, look, it was all grown over with thorns, The face thereof was covered with nettles, And the stone wall thereof was broken down.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men,.... He thought of the condition of the children of men, their sinful and polluted state; he weighed and considered in his mind their actions, conversation, and course of life; and was concerned how it would go with them at the day of judgment on account of the same. Some render it, "I said in mine heart after the speech of the children of men" r; speaking in their language, and representing the atheist and the epicure, as some think the wise man does in the following verses; though he rather speaks his own real sentiments concerning men, as they are in their present state, and as they will appear in the day of judgment;
that God might manifest them; or "separate them" s; as the chaff from the wheat, and as goats from the sheep; as will be done at the day of judgment, Matthew 3:10; or "that they might clear God" t; as they will, when he shall judge and condemn them;
and that they might see that they themselves are beasts; as they are through the fall, and the corruption of nature, being born like the wild ass's colt, stupid, senseless, and without understanding of spiritual things; nay, more brutish than the beasts themselves, than the horse and the mule that have no understanding, Psalms 32:9; "mulo inscitior", as is Plautus's u phrase; see Psalms 49:12 Isaiah 1:3; this is now made manifest to the people of God by the word and Spirit; is seen, known, and acknowledged by them,
Psalms 73:21; and the wicked themselves will see, know, and own what beasts they are and have been, at the day of judgment; how they have lived and died like beasts; how like brute beasts they have corrupted themselves in things they knew naturally; and that as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, spoke evil of things they understood not, and perished in their own corruption, Judges 1:10 2 Peter 2:12; and that they have been beasts to themselves, as Jarchi renders and interprets it; made beasts of themselves by their brutish gratifications; have been cruel to themselves, ruining and destroying their own souls; or among themselves, and to one another, "homo lupus homini"; hence wicked men are compared to lions, foxes, evening wolves, vipers, and the like. So Mr. Broughton renders it, "how they are beasts, they to themselves."
r על דברת בני האדם "super verbum filiorum Adam", Montanus; "verbis hominum", Arabic and Syriac versions. s לברם οτι διακρινει αυτους "ut discernat illos", Cocceius; "quia delegit eos", some in Vatablus; so Aben Ezra and Ben Melech. t "Ut ipsi expurgent Deum", Anglic. in Reinbeck; some in Rambachius render it thus, "ut seligant ipsi (homines) Deum"; so Varenius. u Cisteilaria, Act. 4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
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 ground Ecclesiastes 3:20. And though the destinies of man and beast are different, yet in our present lack of knowledge as to God’s future dealing with our spirits Ecclesiastes 3:21, man finds his portion (see the Ecclesiastes 2:10 note) in such labor and such joy as God assigns to him in his lifetime Ecclesiastes 3:22.
Ecclesiastes 3:16
I saw ... - Rather, I have seen (as in Ecclesiastes 3:10) under the sun the place etc. The place of judgment means the seat of the authorized judge. Compare “the place of the holy” Ecclesiastes 8:10.
Ecclesiastes 3:17
A time there - i. e., a time with God.
Ecclesiastes 3:18
literally, I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men, it is that God may prove them and show them that they are beasts, they themselves. “Showing” is the reading of the Septuagint and Syriac: the present Hebrew text reads “seeing.” The meaning is that the long delay of God’s judgment Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 is calculated to show people that the brevity of their life renders them incapable of following out and understanding His distributive justice.
Ecclesiastes 3:19
That which befalleth the sons of men - literally, the event (happenstance) of the sons of men, i. e., what comes upon them from outside, by virtue of the ordinance of God. See the Ecclesiastes 2:14 note. Death in particular Ecclesiastes 3:2, Ecclesiastes 3:11 is a part of the “work that God doeth.”
Ecclesiastes 3:21
The King James Version of this verse is the only rendering which the Hebrew text, as now pointed, allows. It is in accordance with the best Jewish and many modern interpreters. A slightly different pointing would be requisite to authorize the translation, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of man whether it goes above, and, the spirit of the beast whether it goes down below?” etc., which, though it seems neither necessary nor suitable, is sanctioned by the Septuagint and other versions and by some modern interpreters.
Who knoweth - This expression (used also in Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 6:12) does not necessarily imply complete and absolute ignorance. In Psalms 90:11, it is applied to what is partially understood: compare similar forms of expression in Proverbs 31:10; Psalms 94:16; Isaiah 53:1. Moreover, it is evident from marginal references that Solomon did not doubt the future existence and destination of the soul. This verse can only be construed as a confession of much ignorance on the subject.
Ecclesiastes 3:22
What shall be after him - i. e., What shall become of the results of his work after he is dead. Compare Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 6:12.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 18. That they might see that they themselves are beasts. — The author of Choheleth has given a correct view of this difficult verse, by a proper translation: "I said in my heart, reflecting on the state of the sons of men, O that God would enlighten them, and make them see that even they themselves are like beasts." These words are to be referred to those in authority who abused their power; particularly to the corrupt magistrates mentioned above.
