Ecclesiastes 3:19 (DRB)

Passage

Therefore the death of man, and of beasts is one, and the condition of them both is equal: as man dieth, so they also die: all things breathe alike, and man hath nothing more than beast: all things are subject to vanity.

Nearby Context

Ecclesiastes 3:17 And I said in my heart: God shall judge both the just and the wicked, and then shall be the time of every thing.

Ecclesiastes 3:18 I said in my heart concerning the sons of men, that God would prove them, and shew them to be like beasts.

Ecclesiastes 3:19 Therefore the death of man, and of beasts is one, and the condition of them both is equal: as man dieth, so they also die: all things breathe alike, and man hath nothing more than beast: all things are subject to vanity.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 And all things go to one place: of earth they were made, and into earth they return together.

Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knoweth if the spirit of the children of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "therefore", "death", "beasts", "condition", "both", "equal", and "dieth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "therefore", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "I said in my heart concerning the..." into verse 20's "And all things go to one place...", so "all things" and "therefore" belong inside that flow. In Ecclesiastes context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "all things" and "therefore" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.