--- title: Ecclesiastes 3:18 — I said in my heart: 'It is because of the sons of men, that God may… · Hebrew, tree and pragmatics description: 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.' Who acts: I, heart, God, men. Ecclesiastes 3:18 in Hebrew with its dependency tree, the Targum, JPS 1917 and the pragmatics of every clause. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.18/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tanakh/) / [Ketuvim](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/) / [Ecclesiastes](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC/) / [chapter 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC/3/) / 3:18 # Ecclesiastes 3:18 קֹהֶלֶת **Who acts:** I, heart, God, men · **What happens:** say, be, sift, see · **To what, where:** heart, men · **Speech:** someone speaks in this verse This is Ecclesiastes 3:18 from Mova's open Bible corpus, the Tanakh in three languages (Ketuvim — the Writings). The page gives the verse in Hebrew as the Westminster Leningrad Codex has it, its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, built from MACULA Hebrew — and its pragmatics: who acts — I, heart, God, men — and what happens in the verse to heart, men, read clause by clause by Mova's frames. Beside it stand the Aramaic of the Targum and the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, each English sentence with a tree of its own. It is one of the 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes on this site, all built by Mova itself from its own trees, with no large model in between. אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י עַל־דִּבְרַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם לְבָרָ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְלִרְא֕וֹת שְׁהֶם־בְּהֵמָ֥ה הֵ֖מָּה לָהֶֽם׃ [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.'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/ECC.68/) ## The tree {#tree} Right to left, as the Hebrew is read; a prefix or suffix is a word of its own, and a line under the words joins those written as one. Under each word its part of speech and MACULA's English gloss. ```conllu rtl gloss # sent_id = wlc:ECC:61 # text = אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י עַל־דִּבְרַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם לְבָרָ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְלִרְא֕וֹת שְׁהֶם־בְּהֵמָ֥ה הֵ֖מָּה לָהֶֽם׃ # verse = ECC.3.18 1 אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אָמַר VERB _ Gender=Com|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing|Person=1 0 root _ Gloss=I.said|Ref=ECC_3:18!1|MId=o210030180011|Strong=0559|Frame=A0:210030180021;|Type=qatal 2 אֲנִי֙ אֲנִי PRON _ Gender=Com|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 1 nsubj _ Gloss=I|Ref=ECC_3:18!2|MId=o210030180021|Strong=0589|Type=personal 3-5 בְּלִבִּ֔י _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3 בְּ בְּ ADP _ _ 4 case _ Gloss=in|Ref=ECC_3:18!3|MId=o210030180031|Strong=0871a 4 לִבּ לֵב NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 1 obl _ Gloss=heart|Ref=ECC_3:18!3|MId=o210030180032|Strong=3820 5 ִ֔י הוּא PRON _ Gender=Com|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 4 nmod:poss _ Gloss=my|Ref=ECC_3:18!3|MId=o210030180033|Strong=2967a|Type=pronominal 6 עַל־ עַל ADP _ _ 7 case _ Gloss=on|Ref=ECC_3:18!4|MId=o210030180041|Strong=5921|SpaceAfter=No 7 דִּבְרַת֙ דִּבְרָה NOUN _ Gender=Fem|Number=Sing 1 obl _ Gloss=the.cause|Ref=ECC_3:18!5|MId=o210030180051|Strong=1700 8 בְּנֵ֣י בֵּן NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur 7 compound:smixut _ Gloss=of.the.children|Ref=ECC_3:18!6|MId=o210030180061|Strong=1121 9-10 הָאָדָ֔ם _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9 הָ הַ DET _ PronType=Art 10 det _ Gloss=of.(the)|Ref=ECC_3:18!7|MId=o210030180071|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 10 אָדָ֔ם אָדָם NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 8 compound:smixut _ Gloss=humankind|Ref=ECC_3:18!7|MId=o210030180072|Strong=0120 11-13 לְבָרָ֖ם _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11 לְ לְ ADP _ _ 12 case _ Gloss=to|Ref=ECC_3:18!8|MId=o210030180081|Strong=3807a 12 בָר בָּרַר VERB _ HebBinyan=QAL 1 advcl _ Gloss=test|Ref=ECC_3:18!8|MId=o210030180082|Strong=1305|Frame=A1:210030180083;A0:210030180092;|Type=infinitive_construct 13 ָ֖ם הוּא PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 12 obj _ Gloss=them|Ref=ECC_3:18!8|MId=o210030180083|Strong=3963a|Type=pronominal 14-15 הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14 הָ הַ DET _ PronType=Art 15 det _ Gloss=(the)|Ref=ECC_3:18!9|MId=o210030180091|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 15 אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֱלֹהִים NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur 12 nsubj _ Gloss=God|Ref=ECC_3:18!9|MId=o210030180092|Strong=0430 16-18 וְלִרְא֕וֹת _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16 וְ וְ CCONJ _ _ 18 cc _ Gloss=and|Ref=ECC_3:18!10|MId=o210030180101|Strong=2050b 17 לִ לְ ADP _ _ 18 case _ Gloss=to|Ref=ECC_3:18!10|MId=o210030180102|Strong=3807a 18 רְא֕וֹת רָאָה VERB _ HebBinyan=QAL 12 conj _ Gloss=see|Ref=ECC_3:18!10|MId=o210030180103|Strong=7200|Frame=A0:210030180061;A1:210030180121;210030180142;|Type=infinitive_construct 19-20 שְׁהֶם־ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 19 שְׁ שֶׁ SCONJ _ _ 21 mark _ Gloss=(cmp)|Ref=ECC_3:18!11|MId=o210030180111|Strong=7578a|Type=relative 20 הֶם־ הֵם PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 21 nsubj _ Gloss=they|Ref=ECC_3:18!11|MId=o210030180112|Strong=1992|Type=personal 21 בְּהֵמָ֥ה בְּהֵמָה NOUN _ Gender=Fem|Number=Sing 18 acl:relcl _ Gloss=[are].animal[s]|Ref=ECC_3:18!12|MId=o210030180121|Strong=0929 22 הֵ֖מָּה הֵמָּה PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 24 nsubj _ Gloss=they|Ref=ECC_3:18!13|MId=o210030180131|Strong=1992|Type=personal 23-24 לָהֶֽם _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 ל לְ ADP _ _ 24 case _ Gloss=(for|Ref=ECC_3:18!14|MId=o210030180141|Strong=3807a 24 ָהֶֽם הוּא PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 21 parataxis _ Gloss=themselves|Ref=ECC_3:18!14|MId=o210030180142|Strong=3963a|Type=pronominal 25 ׃ ׃ PUNCT _ _ 24 punct _ Ref=ECC_3:18!14 ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} - form: statement - act: assert - voice: character - speech: inside a quote begun earlier - negation: no | verb | form · stem | who (A0) | what, whom (A1) | to whom, further (A2) | who makes it happen (AA) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | אָמַרְתִּֽי *I said* | qatal · qal | אֲנִי *I* | | | | | בָר *test* | infinitive construct · qal | אֱלֹהִים *God* | ָם *them* | | | | רְאוֹת *see* | infinitive construct · qal | בְּנֵי *of the children* | בְּהֵמָה *\[are\] animal\[s\]* + ָהֶֽם *themselves* | | | MACULA's semantic frames: for each verb the head word of each participant. A0 is the one who acts, A1 what the act is done to or is about, A2 a further participant; AA, with a causative verb, the one who makes it happen. ## The Targum {#onkelos} אֲמַרִית אֲנָא בְּלִבִּי עַל עֵיסַק בְּנֵי אֱנָשָׁא דְּיֵיתֵי עֲלֵיהוֹן מַכְתָּשִׁין וּמַרְעִין בִּישִׁין בְּגִין לְנַסּוֹאֵיהוֹן וּבְגִין לְמִבְחַנְהוֹן עֲבַד יְיָ לְמִחְזֵי אִין תָּיְבִין בִּתְיוּבְתָּא יִשְׁתְּבֵיק לְהוֹן וִיִתְּסוּן וְרַשִּׁיעַיָּא דִי אִינוּן כִּבְעִירָא לָא תָּיְבִין בְּגִין כֵּן אִנּוּן מִתְוַכְּחִין בְּהוֹן לְאַבְאָשָׁא לְהוֹן: The Aramaic translation read beside the Hebrew. Text only: Mova has no Aramaic parser yet. ## English, JPS 1917 {#english} Each sentence on its own page, with its tree and pragmatics. A sentence that runs on into the next verse is listed under the verse it begins in. 1. [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.'](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/ECC.68/) **Hebrew text:** Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. **Tree, glosses and frames:** MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets, available at [github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew](https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew/), [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); converted to Universal Dependencies by Mova (words in text order, a prefix its own word). **Speech act:** Mova's rules on the MACULA words (`macula prag`). **Targum:** Onkelos (Torat Emet), Jonathan and the Writings (Mikraot Gedolot), from Sefaria, public domain. **English:** JPS 1917, public domain; trees and speech acts by Mova's cycle, frames by Mova's reader (Elamur Cosmic License). Hebrew sentence `wlc:ECC:61`. - ← previous: [Ecclesiastes 3:17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.17/) - next →: [Ecclesiastes 3:19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.19/) - ↑ back to [Ecclesiastes 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC/3/)