Ecclesiastes 12:7

Ecclesiastes 12:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
• New International Version (NIV)and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Context of Ecclesiastes 12:7

5when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels— for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. 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, before 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!” 9Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 word by word

וְיָשֹׁ֧ב הֶעָפָ֛ר עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּשֶׁהָיָ֑ה וְהָר֣וּחַ תָּשׁ֔וּב אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נְתָנָֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

• the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• returnsשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• toעַל‛al · uponH5921
• the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• from which it cameהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• and the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• gave itנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 12:7

• Ecclesiastes 3:20All go to one place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.
• Genesis 3:19By 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.”
• Genesis 18:27Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—
• Job 4:19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
• Job 7:21Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”
• Job 20:11The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie down with him in the dust.
• Job 34:14If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,
• Psalms 90:3You return man to dust, saying, “Return, O sons of mortals.”
• Psalms 146:4When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
• Daniel 12:2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
• Ecclesiastes 3:21Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and the spirit of the animal descends into the earth?
• Genesis 2:7Then 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.
• Numbers 16:22But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the whole congregation?”
• Numbers 27:16“May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
• Isaiah 57:16For 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.
• Jeremiah 38:16But King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of these men who are seeking your life.”

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 12:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God - 5. Putrefaction and solution take place; the whole mass becomes decomposed, and in process of time is reduced to dust, from which it was originally made; while the spirit, הרוח haruach, that spirit, which God at first breathed into the nostrils of man, when he in consequence became a Living Soul, an intelligent, rational, discoursing animal, returns to God who gave…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The spirit - i. e., The spirit separated unto God from the body at death. No more is said here of its future destiny. To return to God, who is the fountain Psalm 36:9 of Life, certainly means to continue to live. The doctrine of life after death is implied here as in Exodus 3:6 (compare Mark 12:26), Psalm 17:15 (see the note), and in many other passages of Scripture earlier than the age of Solomon. The inference that the soul loses its personality and is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7dust returns to the ground: See Genesis 2:7; 3:19. The idea that the spirit will return to God who gave it suggests a belief in an afterlife (compare Ecclesiastes 3:21; see “The Afterlife” Theme Note).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. dust--the dust-formed body. spirit--surviving the body; implying its immortality (Ec 3:11).Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 12:7

• Animals
• Corruption
• Death
• Immortality
• Life
• Man
• Old Age
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Conclusion
• Creator
• Death
• Heed
• Judgment
• Man
• Remember
• Whole

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings