Ecclesiastes 3:20

20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return 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 also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals.

19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless!

20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust.

21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth?

22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die.