Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?
Parallel translations
- WEB Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”
- KJV Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
- NKJV Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?
- NASB Who knows that the spirit of the sons of mankind ascends upward and the spirit of the animal descends downward to the earth?
- NLT For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He asks who truly knows whether the human spirit rises while the animal's descends. From earthly observation alone, the soul's destiny is not visible.
Overview
The Preacher poses a rhetorical question about the unseen difference between human and animal spirits at death. 'Under the sun,' such things cannot be observed or proven. The book later affirms that the spirit returns to God who gave it (12:7), and the fuller revelation of Scripture clarifies the distinct, eternal destiny of humanity made known through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Eccl 12:7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
- 2 Cor 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.
- 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.
- Phil 1:23I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.
- Luke 16:22–23One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried.
- 2 Cor 5:8We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
- Acts 1:25to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The search that finds everything 'under the sun' to be vapor exposes the emptiness of life without God and drives us to the one who alone gives meaning, the resurrection that makes our labor not in vain.
How Ecclesiastes 3:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.