Ecclesiastes 3:21

3:21 Who really knows if the human spirit ¹  ascends upward,

and the animal’s spirit descends into the earth?

Ecclesiastes 12:7

12:7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was,

and the life’s breath ²  returns to God who gave it.

Luke 12:20

12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life ³  will be demanded back from ⁴  you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ⁵ 

Luke 16:22-23

16:22 “Now ⁶  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ⁷  The ⁸  rich man also died and was buried. ⁹  16:23 And in hell, ¹⁰  as he was in torment, ¹¹  he looked up ¹²  and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. ¹³ 

[3:21]  ¹ tn Heb “the spirit of the sons of man.”

[12:7]  ² tn Or “spirit.” The likely referent is the life’s breath that originates with God. See Eccl 3:19, as well as Gen 2:7; 6:17; 7:22.

[12:20]  ³ tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[12:20]  ⁴ tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).

[12:20]  ⁵ tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[16:22]  ⁶ tn Grk “Now it happened that the.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[16:22]  ⁷ tn Grk “to Abraham’s bosom.” The phrase “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” describes being gathered to the fathers and is a way to refer to heaven (Gen 15:15; 47:30; Deut 31:16).

[16:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[16:22]  ⁹ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

[16:23]  ¹⁰ sn The Greek term Hades stands for the Hebrew concept of Sheol. It is what is called hell today. This is where the dead were gathered (Ps 16:10; 86:13). In the NT Hades has an additional negative force of awaiting judgment (Rev 20:13).

[16:23]  ¹¹ sn Hades is a place of torment, especially as one knows that he is separated from God.

[16:23]  ¹² tn Grk “he lifted up his eyes” (an idiom).

[16:23]  ¹³ tn Grk “in his bosom,” the same phrase used in 16:22. This idiom refers to heaven and/or participation in the eschatological banquet. An appropriate modern equivalent is “at Abraham’s side.”