Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

New King James Version

¹⁹^(A)For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. ²⁰All go to one place: ^(B)all are from the dust, and all return to dust. ²¹^(C)Who^[a] knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Ecclesiastes 3:21 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Who knows whether the spirit . . . goes upward, and whether . . . goes downward to the earth?

Ecclesiastes 3:19-21

New International Version

¹⁹Surely the fate of human beings^(A) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath^[a]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. ²⁰All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.^(B) ²¹Who knows if the human spirit rises upward^(C) and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”