“I said in my heart
With regard to humans
That God is testing them
To show
That they are but animals.
‘The fate of humans,
The fate of animals
Is the same.
As one dies,
So does the other.
They all have the same breath.
Humans have no advantage
Over the animals.
All is vanity.
All go to one place.
All are from dust.
All turn to dust again.
Who knows
Whether the human spirit
Goes upward?
Who knows
Whether the spirit of animals
Goes downward to the earth?’”
Qoheleth makes a comparison of humans to animals. He does not see much difference. They both share the same fate. They both die. The humans try in vain to show that they more than animals. However, they have no advantage, since all is vanity. They both come from and go to dust. Do they go to the same place? Do humans really go up and animals go down? Qoheleth sees a spirit in both humans and animals. So we are left with this dilemma of the afterlife of humans and animals.