Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh, wie dies stirbt, so stirbt er auch; und haben alle einerlei Odem; und der Mensch hat nichts mehr denn das Vieh: denn es ist alles eitel. Es fährt alles an einen Ort; es ist alles von Staub gemacht, und wird wieder zu Staub. Wer weiss, ob der Geist des Menschen aufwärts fahre, und der Odem des Viehes unterwärts unter die Erde fahre? Darum sahe ich, daß nichts bessers ist, denn dass der Mensch fröhlich sei in seiner Arbeit, denn das ist sein Teil. Denn wer will ihn dahin bringen, dass er sehe, was nach ihm geschehen wird?
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Holy Bible: German Luther Translation, Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, The Unbound Bible project, 2002. Note: the spelling has been modernized.
Note: There is a typo in Brahms's score in stanza 3, line 2, word 2. The score incorrectly has "das" here.
Text Authorship:
- by Bible or other Sacred Texts , no title, Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Bible or other Sacred Texts , from Ecclesiastes 3:19-22
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh", op. 121 no. 1 (1896), published 1896 [ baritone and piano ], from Vier ernste Gesänge, no. 1, Berlin, Simrock [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English [singable] (Paul England)
- ENG English (Laura Prichard) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) [singable] (Frieda Boutarel) (Amédée Boutarel)
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) [singable] (Hamutal Atariah) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- SPA Spanish (Español) (Susana Martin Dudoignon) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Laura Prichard [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-12
Line count: 17
Word count: 105
One thing befalleth the beasts and the sons of men; The beast must die, the man dieth also, yea, both must die; To beast and man one breath is given, And the man is not above the beast; For all things are but vanity. They go all to the self same place, For they all are of the dust, and to dust they return. Who knoweth if a man's spirit goeth upwards? And who knoweth if the spirit of the beast goeth downward to the earth? Therefore I perceive that there is nothing better Than that a man should rejoice in his own works, For that is his portion. For who shall ever show him, who shall show him what will happen after him?
About the headline (FAQ)
Note for line 3: While Brahms simply repeated the German text, the translator modified the English the second time around.
Text Authorship:
- Singable translation by Paul England (c1863 - c1932) [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Bible or other Sacred Texts , no title, Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Bible or other Sacred Texts , from Ecclesiastes 3:19-22
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-10-06
Line count: 17
Word count: 124