Ecclesiastes 3:20

Ecclesiastes 3:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
• New International Version (NIV)All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
• English Standard Version (ESV)All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.
• New King James Version (NKJV)All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.

Context of Ecclesiastes 3:20

18I also thought, ‘God wants people to know that they are like animals. That is why he tests us. 19The same thing happens to humans as happens to animals. We all breathe for a time and then we die. Humans are no different to animals. Life has no purpose. All living things finally go to the same place. We all come from the dust of the ground. And we all go back to the dust when we die. 21Do the spirits of humans go up into the sky when we die? Do the spirits of animals go down into the ground? Nobody really knows.’ 22So I realized that people should enjoy the work that they do. That is the best thing for us to do. It is what God has provided for us. I think that is best, because nobody can show us what will finally happen to us.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 word by word

הַכֹּ֥ל הוֹלֵ֖ךְ אֶל־מָק֣וֹם אֶחָ֑ד הַכֹּל֙ הָיָ֣ה מִן־הֶֽעָפָ֔ר וְהַכֹּ֖ל שָׁ֥ב אֶל־הֶעָפָֽר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• All goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• unto oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• all are of the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• and all turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725

Cross-references for Ecclesiastes 3:20

• Ecclesiastes 3:21Do the spirits of humans go up into the sky when we die? Do the spirits of animals go down into the ground? Nobody really knows.’
• Ecclesiastes 6:6A rich person might live for 2,000 years. But if he never enjoys his riches, it would be better if he died at birth. Remember that after death, we all go into our graves.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Use all your strength to do the work that you are doing. One day you will die and you will go into your grave. Then you will not have any work, or ideas, or knowledge or wisdom. So do your work well while you are alive.
• Genesis 25:8He died after a good and long life, when he was very old. He joined his ancestors who had died before him.
• Numbers 27:13After that, you will die, just as your brother Aaron also died.
• Job 7:9Clouds disappear and you never see them again. That is like people who die and go into their graves. They do not come back again.
• Job 17:13The only home that I hope to go to is my grave. I will lie down to sleep there in the dark.
• Job 30:24When someone is weak and in trouble, people do not usually try to hurt him. When someone calls aloud for help, they do not refuse to help him.
• Psalms 49:14They will follow one another like sheep. Death will be their shepherd that leads them into their graves. But when the day arrives, righteous people will rule over them. They will no longer live in their great houses, but death will destroy their bodies in their graves.
• Genesis 3:19You will have to work hard for a long time before you have any food to eat. You will do this for your whole life until you die. Then you will return into the ground. That is where you came from. I made you from the soil of the ground, and you will become soil again.’
• Job 10:9Remember that you made me, like someone who uses clay to make things. Will you now make me become dust again?
• Job 34:15If he did that, everyone that is alive would die. As humans, we would become dirt again.
• Psalms 104:29When you turn away from them, they become very afraid. When you take away their breath, they die and they return to the dust.
• Daniel 12:2Many dead people who lie under the ground will become alive again. Some of them will receive life that continues for ever with God. But other people will receive shame that continues for ever.

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20All go unto one place - "Man was born To die, nor aught exceeds in this respect The vilest brute. Both transient, frail, and vain, Draw the same breath; alike grow old, decay, And then expire: both to one grave descend; There blended lie, to native dust return'd." - C.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 That great anomaly in the moral government of this world, the seemingly unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, will be rectified by God, who has future times and events under His control Ecclesiastes 3:16-17. As for people, they are placed by God, who is their teacher, in a humble condition, even on a level with inferior animals, by death, that great instance of their subjection to vanity Ecclesiastes 3:18-19, which reduces to its…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-22Verses 16-22 Without the fear of the Lord, man is but vanity; set that aside, and judges will not use their power well. And there is another Judge that stands before the door. With God there is a time for the redressing of grievances, though as yet we see it not. Solomon seems to express his wish that men might perceive, that by choosing this world as their portion, they brought themselves to a level with the beasts, without being free, as they are, from…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20from dust...to dust: The Teacher talks about God's judgment on human rebellion in Eden (see Genesis 3:19).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-22Ec 3:1-22. Earthly pursuits are no doubt lawful in their proper time and order (Ec 3:1-8), but unprofitable when out of time and place; as for instance, when pursued as the solid and chief good (Ec 3:9, 10); whereas God makes everything beautiful in its season, which man obscurely comprehends (Ec 3:11). God allows man to enjoy moderately and virtuously His earthly gifts (Ec 3:12, 13). What consoles us amidst the instability of earthly blessings is, God's…Read the comment

Topics related to Ecclesiastes 3:20

• Animals
• Corruption
• Death
• Dust
• Man

In the dictionaries

• Dance
• Judge
• Death
• Dust
• Psalms, Book of
• Synagogue, the Great

Commentaries on Ecclesiastes 3

• 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
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings