Ecclesiastes 12:7
New International Version
and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

New Living Translation
For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

English Standard Version
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Berean Standard Bible
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

King James Bible
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

New King James Version
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

New American Standard Bible
then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

NASB 1995
then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

NASB 1977
then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Legacy Standard Bible
then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Amplified Bible
then the dust [out of which God made man’s body] will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Christian Standard Bible
and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

American Standard Version
and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.

Contemporary English Version
So our bodies return to the earth, and the life-giving breath returns to God.

English Revised Version
and the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return unto God who gave it.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then the dust [of mortals] goes back to the ground as it was before, and the breath of life goes back to God who gave it.

Good News Translation
Our bodies will return to the dust of the earth, and the breath of life will go back to God, who gave it to us.

International Standard Version
then man's dust will go back to the earth, returning to what it was, and the spirit will return to the God who gave it.

Majority Standard Bible
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

NET Bible
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life's breath returns to God who gave it.

New Heart English Bible
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.

World English Bible
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And the dust returns to the earth as it was, "" And the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Young's Literal Translation
And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth to God who gave it.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the dust shall turn back to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall turn back to God who gave it.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the dust return into its earth, from whence it was, and the spirit return to God, who gave it.

Catholic Public Domain Version
and the dust returns to its earth, from which it was, and the spirit returns to God, who granted it.

New American Bible
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

New Revised Standard Version
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Then the dust shall return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the dust will return to Earth like it was and the spirit will return to LORD JEHOVAH who gave it
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth unto God who gave it.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
before the dust also return to the earth as it was, and the spirit return to God who gave it.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Remember Your Creator
6Remember Him before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is crushed, before the pitcher is shattered at the spring and the wheel is broken at the well, 7before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”…

Cross References
Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

Job 34:14-15
If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath, / all flesh would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.

Psalm 104:29-30
When You hide Your face, they are terrified; when You take away their breath, they die and return to dust. / When You send Your Spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.

Isaiah 42:5
This is what God the LORD says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

Isaiah 57:16
For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me—the breath of life I have made.

Zechariah 12:1
This is the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth, who forms the spirit of man within him:

Romans 8:10
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. / It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. / It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:47-49
The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. / As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. / And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.

2 Corinthians 5:1-4
For 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. / For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, / because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ...

2 Corinthians 5:8
We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Philippians 1:23
I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.

1 Thessalonians 4:14
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

Hebrews 12:9
Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?


Treasury of Scripture

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return to God who gave it.

dust

Ecclesiastes 3:20
All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 18:27
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:

the spirit

Ecclesiastes 3:21
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

God

Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Numbers 16:22
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Numbers 27:16
Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,

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Ecclesiastes 12
1. the Creator is to be remembered in due time
8. The preacher's care to edify
13. the fear of God is the chief antidote for vanity














and the dust returns to the ground it came from
This phrase draws from the creation narrative in Genesis 2:7, where God forms man from the "dust of the ground." The Hebrew word for "dust" is "ʿāp̄ār," which signifies the basic, earthly elements from which humans are made. This imagery emphasizes human mortality and the transient nature of life. Archaeologically, ancient Near Eastern cultures often viewed humans as being created from clay or earth, underscoring a shared understanding of human frailty. Theologically, this phrase reminds believers of the humility and dependence on God, as humans are part of creation and will return to it.

and the spirit returns to God who gave it
The word "spirit" in Hebrew is "rûaḥ," which can mean breath, wind, or spirit. This term is used throughout the Old Testament to denote the life-giving force from God. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes life into man, indicating that life itself is a divine gift. The phrase "returns to God" suggests a belief in the afterlife and the eternal nature of the soul. It reflects the understanding that while the body is temporary, the spirit is eternal and accountable to God. Historically, this view contrasts with some ancient beliefs that saw death as the end of existence. For conservative Christians, this phrase offers hope and assurance of life beyond death, affirming that the soul's ultimate destination is with God, who is the source of all life.

(7) The preacher has risen above the doubts of Ecclesiastes 3:21. (See also Genesis 3:19.)

Verse 7. - Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; rather, and the dust return, etc. - the sentence begun above being still carried on to the end of the verse. Here we are told what becomes of the complex man at death, and are thus led to the explanation of the allegorical language used throughout. Without metaphor now it is stated that the material body, when life is extinct, returns to that matter out of which it was originally made (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:19; comp. Job 34:15; Psalm 104:29). So Siracides calls man "dust and ashes," and asserts that all things that are of the earth turn to the earth again (Ecclus. 10:9 Ecclus. 40:11). Soph., 'Electra,' 1158 -

Ἀντὶ φιλτάτης`ΝΛ´Μορφῆς σποδόν τε καὶ σκιὰν ἀνωφελῆ

"Instead of thy dear form,
Mere dust and idle shadow."
Corn. a Lapide quotes a remarkable parallel given by Plutarch ('Apol. ad Apollon.,' 110) from Epicharmus," Life is compounded and broken up, and again goes whence it came; earth indeed to earth, and the spirit to upper regions." And the spirit shall return unto God who gave it; or, for the spirit - the clause being no longer subjunctive, but speaking indicatively of fact. In the first clause the preposition "to" is עַל, in the second אֶל, as if to mark the distinction between the downward and the upward way. The writer now rises superior to the doubts expressed in Ecclesiastes 3:21 (where see note), "Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward," etc.? It is not that he contradicts himself in the two passages, as some suppose, and have hence regarded ver. 7 as an interpolation; but that after all discussion, after expressing the course of his perplexities, and the various phases of his thought, he comes to the conclusion that there is a future for the individual soul, and that it shall be brought into immediate connection with a personal God. There is here no thought of its being absorbed in the anima mundi, in accordance with the heathen view, which, if it believed dimly in an immortality, denied the personality of the soul (see Eurip., ' Suppl.,' 529-534; Lucret., 2. 998, sqq.; 3:455, sqq.). Nor have we any opinion given concerning the adverse doctrines of creationism and traducianism, though the terms used are most consistent with the former. God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life; when this departs, he who gave receives it; God "gathereth in" man's breath (Psalm 104:29). The clause, taken in this restricted sense, would say nothing about the soul, the personal "I;" it would merely indicate the destination of the vital breath; and many critics are content to see nothing more in the words. But surely this would be a feeble conclusion of the author's wanderings; rather the sentence signifies that death, releasing the spirit, or soul, from the earthly tabernacle, places it in the more immediate presence of God, there, as the Targum paraphrases the passage, returning to stand in judgment before its Creator.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
[before] the dust
הֶעָפָ֛ר (he·‘ā·p̄ār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6083: Dust, clay, earth, mud

returns
וְיָשֹׁ֧ב (wə·yā·šōḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the ground
הָאָ֖רֶץ (hā·’ā·reṣ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

from which it came,
כְּשֶׁהָיָ֑ה (kə·še·hā·yāh)
Preposition-k, Pronoun - relative | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

and the spirit
וְהָר֣וּחַ (wə·hā·rū·aḥ)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 7307: Wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

returns
תָּשׁ֔וּב (tā·šūḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

God
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

who
אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

gave it.
נְתָנָֽהּ׃ (nə·ṯā·nāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set


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OT Poetry: Ecclesiastes 12:7 And the dust returns to the earth (Ecclesiast. Ec Ecc Eccles.)
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