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The silver cord snaps,
    the golden bowl breaks;
the water pitcher is smashed,
and the pulley at the well
    is shattered.
So our bodies return
    to the earth,
and the life-giving breath[a]
    returns to God.
Nothing makes sense.
I have seen it all—
    nothing makes sense.

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Footnotes

  1. 12.7 life-giving breath: Or “spirit.”

Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
    and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
    and the wheel broken at the well,
and the dust returns(A) to the ground it came from,
    and the spirit returns to God(B) who gave it.(C)

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[a](D)
    “Everything is meaningless!(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Ecclesiastes 12:8 Or the leader of the assembly; also in verses 9 and 10