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Ecclesiastes 3:18

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Ecclesiastes 3:18

Verse 18 of 22

Scripture focus

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.

Ecclesiastes 3:18 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Ecclesiastes 3:18

Theological / Devotional

The estate. Compare “the order [manner]” (Ps. 110:4). A better translation of the entire phrase here would be simply “concerning the sons of men.”

Manifest. Literally, “purify,” “select,” “test,” “prove.” In Isa. 52:11 the verb is translated “be ye clean,” in Dan. 11:35, “to purge,” in Dan. 12:10, “shall be purified.” Solomon thus expresses the desire that God test men as a disciplinary measure, in order to cleanse and purify them (see Job 5:17; 23:10; see on Eccl. 3:19).

That they might see. There is hope for the man who recognizes his sinful and unclean condition.

Beasts. Usually translated “cattle.” It is from the root “to be dumb,” and is related to an Arabic word meaning “to be impeded in speech,” “to be tongue-tied.”

By SdaBc