Ecclesiastes 3:21
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?”
A short, plain-language explanation of Ecclesiastes 3:21 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
King James Version · Public Domain“Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“Who knoweth the spirit of the sons of man that is going up on high, and the spirit of the beast that is going down below to the earth?”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Ecclesiastes 3:21 — 8 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Job 14:10But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?
- Ecclesiastes 12:7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- Luke 16:22One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
- John 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
- Acts 1:25to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
- 2 Corinthians 5:8We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
- Philippians 1:23I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).