Death is now mentioned more directly. Dust presumably means the body after death, when it is buried and turns to dust again. In translation we can say “the body” or “the dead person.” The background for the imagery is Gen 2–3. The translator should consult these passages and try to maintain the same vocabulary if possible. Qoheleth is addressing an audience, and thus the real subject is “you.” In some cases this may be incorporated: “before you who are but dust return to the earth….” However, Qoheleth seems to purposely avoid speaking directly to his audience throughout this passage. If possible this indirect way of speaking should be maintained.

Returns to the earth carries two possible meanings. One is that the body turns to dust and becomes one with the ground from which it was formed; the other is a reference to the act of burial itself. In the latter the body is returned (using a passive rather than active form) to the earth. There are numerous cultures where the corpse is not buried but is disposed of in other ways. In such cases we suggest a literal rendering of the “back to the earth” expression, but with a footnote to explain the Israelite custom of burial and its link with the imagery of Genesis chapters 2 and 3.

As it was describes the situation just mentioned. It refers back to the word “dust.” The body, after death and burial, becomes one with the ground. This phrase helps us to determine what the previous phrase meant. Thus we can say “the body returns to the ground from which it was formed” or “the body goes back to the earth from which it was taken.”

And the spirit returns to God who gave it: spirit is the Hebrew term ruach; see comments on its meaning in 11.5. According to the tradition in Gen 2.7, God who formed human beings from the dust of the ground also gave them their “spirit” or “breath.” So it is fitting that at death the spirit returns to the one who gave it. The reference is to the spirit given to people, not to every creature, so we can make this clear by saying, “a person’s spirit returns to God who gave it [originally].” We have seen that the word for spirit is ambiguous in Hebrew (“wind,” “spirit,” “life-breath”), and we have translated it in each instance according to context. Here again the translator must be sensitive to the context, using a term that can refer to that part of a person that leaves the person at death.

Notice that the verb returns occurs in both parts of this verse. It is significant that in this conclusion we come back to the same words as occurred in the poem that opened the book (1.6). There the interpretation was “wind turning”; here it is “spirit returning.”

Qoheleth uses parallel lines and a chiastic structure to emphasize his point and to provide a proper ending to this poem.

The lines themselves are rich in repeated sounds in Hebrew. The translator may try if possible to maintain at least some of the literary features present.

For translation of the last part of the verse, we suggest:

• … before the body returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who [originally] gave it.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .