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Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
King James Version
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
King James Version
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
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?
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Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
New International Version
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
New International Version
18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals.(A) 19 Surely the fate of human beings(B) is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath[a]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.(C) 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward(D) and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?”
Footnotes
- Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or spirit
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
English Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
English Standard Version
18 I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but (A)beasts. 19 (B)For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.[a] 20 All go to one place. All are from (C)the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether (D)the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?
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- Ecclesiastes 3:19 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (see note on 1:2)
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
Christian Standard Bible
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
Christian Standard Bible
18 I said to myself, “This happens so that God may test the children of Adam and they may see for themselves that they are like animals.”(A) 19 For the fate of the children of Adam and the fate of animals is the same.(B) As one dies, so dies the other; they all have the same breath. People have no advantage over animals since everything is futile. 20 All are going to the same place; all come from dust, and all return to dust.(C) 21 Who knows if the spirits of the children of Adam go upward and the spirits of animals go downward to the earth?
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Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
New American Standard Bible 1995
Ecclesiastes 3:18-21
New American Standard Bible 1995
18 I said [a]to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but (A)beasts.” 19 (B)For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts [b]is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is [c]vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the (C)dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the (D)breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?
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- Ecclesiastes 3:18 Lit in my heart
- Ecclesiastes 3:19 Lit and they have one fate
- Ecclesiastes 3:19 Or futility
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.