Ecclesiastes 3:20

20 Both end up the same way; both came from dust and both will go back to dust.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ecclesiastes 3:20

All go unto one place
The earth ^F23 from whence they came; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again;
Adam's body was made of the dust of the earth, and so all his posterity, all of them; in which they agree with beasts, who are made of the dust also; and, when they die, return to it; see ( Genesis 2:7 ) ( 3:19 ) ( Psalms 104:29 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 "Magna parens terra est", Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 7.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 In-Context

18 I decided that God leaves it the way it is to test people and to show them they are just like animals.

19 The same thing happens to animals and to people; they both have the same breath, so they both die. People are no better off than the animals, because everything is useless.

20 Both end up the same way; both came from dust and both will go back to dust.

21 Who can be sure that the human spirit goes up to God and that the spirit of an animal goes down into the ground?

22 So I saw that the best thing people can do is to enjoy their work, because that is all they have. No one can help another person see what will happen in the future.