Ecclesiastes 3:19

Hebrew Bible

18 I also thought to myself, “It is for the sake of people, so God can clearly show them that they are like animals. 19 For the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same: As one dies, so dies the other; both have the same breath. There is no advantage for humans over animals, for both are fleeting. 20 Both go to the same place; both come from the dust, and to dust both return. 21 Who really knows if the human spirit ascends upward, and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?”

1 Enoch 102:6

Pseudepigrapha

5 And grieve not if your soul into Sheol has descended in grief, And that in your life your body fared not according to your goodness, But wait for the day of the judgement of sinners And for the day of cursing and chastisement. 6 And when you die, the sinners will say about you: "Just as we have died, so also the righteous have died; and what gain did they have from their works? 7 Behold, even as we, so do they die in grief and darkness, And what have they more than we? From henceforth we are equal. 8 And what will they receive and what will they see for ever? Behold, they too have died, And henceforth for ever shall they see no light."

 Notes and References

"... The death of the righteous is perceived by the sinners as being essentially no different from their own. Neither righteousness nor wickedness are taken into consideration when it comes to death. This comparison echoes the sentiment expressed by Qoheleth as he questions the value of having wisdom at all (2:14–16); he asks rhetorically in 2:16: “How can the wise man die just like fools?” “And how the wise man will die together with the fool!”; compare also Qoh. 3:19–20; 9:2870; and 11:7–12:7) ..."

Stuckenbruck, Loren T. 1 Enoch 91-108 (p. 507) De Gruyter, 2007

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.