Ecclesiastes 3:21 — Bible Verse (KJV)
“Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 3:21 — King James Version (KJV), 1611
Ecclesiastes 3:21 in 6 Bible Translations
Read Ecclesiastes 3:21 in the King James Version (KJV) and 5 other free, public-domain translations side by side.
Ecclesiastes 3:21 WEB — World English Bible (2000)
“Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?””
Ecclesiastes 3:21 — World English Bible
Ecclesiastes 3:21 ASV — American Standard Version (1901)
“Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast, whether it goeth downward to the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 3:21 — American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 3:21 YLT — Young's Literal Translation (1862)
“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?”
Ecclesiastes 3:21 — Young's Literal Translation
Ecclesiastes 3:21 DBY — Darby Translation (1890)
“Who knoweth the spirit of the children of men? Doth it go upwards? and the spirit of the beasts, doth it go downwards to the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 3:21 — Darby Translation
Ecclesiastes 3:21 GEN — Geneva Bible (1599)
“Who knoweth whether the spirit of man ascend vpward, and the spirit of the beast descend downeward to the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 3:21 — Geneva Bible
Ecclesiastes 3:21 in Context — Ecclesiastes 3
19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
Read the full chapter: Ecclesiastes 3 — All Have Sinned and Fall Short of the Glory of God →
What Does Ecclesiastes 3:21 Mean?
Ecclesiastes 3:21 is a verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes, part of the Old Testament. It appears in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Use The Living Sword's word-by-word study mode to explore every word in the original Hebrew and Aramaic.
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