--- title: Ecclesiastes 3:21 — Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spiri… · Hebrew, tree and pragmatics description: Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth? Who acts: spirit. Ecclesiastes 3:21 in Hebrew with its dependency tree, the Targum, JPS 1917 and the pragmatics of every clause. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.21/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tanakh/) / [Ketuvim](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/) / [Ecclesiastes](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC/) / [chapter 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC/3/) / 3:21 # Ecclesiastes 3:21 קֹהֶלֶת **Who acts:** spirit · **What happens:** know, go · **To what, where:** spirit, earth · **Speech:** someone speaks in this verse This is Ecclesiastes 3:21 from Mova's open Bible corpus, the Tanakh in three languages (Ketuvim — the Writings). The page gives the verse in Hebrew as the Westminster Leningrad Codex has it, its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, built from MACULA Hebrew — and its pragmatics: who acts — spirit — and what happens in the verse to spirit, earth, read clause by clause by Mova's frames. Beside it stand the Aramaic of the Targum and the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, each English sentence with a tree of its own. It is one of the 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes on this site, all built by Mova itself from its own trees, with no large model in between. מִ֣י יוֹדֵ֗עַ ר֚וּחַ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם הָעֹלָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְמָ֑עְלָה וְר֙וּחַ֙ הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה הַיֹּרֶ֥דֶת הִ֖יא לְמַ֥טָּה לָאָֽרֶץ׃ [Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/ECC.71/) ## The tree {#tree} Right to left, as the Hebrew is read; a prefix or suffix is a word of its own, and a line under the words joins those written as one. Under each word its part of speech and MACULA's English gloss. ```conllu rtl gloss # sent_id = wlc:ECC:64 # text = מִ֣י יוֹדֵ֗עַ ר֚וּחַ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם הָעֹלָ֥ה הִ֖יא לְמָ֑עְלָה וְר֙וּחַ֙ הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה הַיֹּרֶ֥דֶת הִ֖יא לְמַ֥טָּה לָאָֽרֶץ׃ # verse = ECC.3.21 1 מִ֣י מִי PRON _ PronType=Int 2 nsubj _ Gloss=who?|Ref=ECC_3:21!1|MId=o210030210011|Strong=4310|Type=interrogative 2 יוֹדֵ֗עַ יָדַע VERB _ Gender=Masc|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing 0 root _ Gloss=[is].knowing|Ref=ECC_3:21!2|MId=o210030210021|Strong=3045|Frame=A0:210030210011;A1:210030210062;210030210112;|Type=participle_active 3 ר֚וּחַ רוּחַ NOUN _ Number=Sing 2 ccomp _ Gloss=the.spirit|Ref=ECC_3:21!3|MId=o210030210031|Strong=7307 4 בְּנֵ֣י בֵּן NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Plur 3 compound:smixut _ Gloss=of.the.children|Ref=ECC_3:21!4|MId=o210030210041|Strong=1121 5-6 הָאָדָ֔ם _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5 הָ הַ DET _ PronType=Art 6 det _ Gloss=of.(the)|Ref=ECC_3:21!5|MId=o210030210051|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 6 אָדָ֔ם אָדָם NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 4 compound:smixut _ Gloss=humankind|Ref=ECC_3:21!5|MId=o210030210052|Strong=0120 7-8 הָעֹלָ֥ה _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 הָ הַ SCONJ _ _ 8 mark _ Gloss=[which|Ref=ECC_3:21!6|MId=o210030210061|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 8 עֹלָ֥ה עָלָה VERB _ Gender=Fem|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing 3 parataxis _ Gloss=is].going.up|Ref=ECC_3:21!6|MId=o210030210062|Strong=5927|Frame=A0:210030210031;|Type=participle_active 9 הִ֖יא הִיא PRON _ Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 8 nsubj _ Gloss=it|Ref=ECC_3:21!7|MId=o210030210071|Strong=1931a|Type=personal 10-12 לְמָ֑עְלָה _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10 לְ לְ ADP _ _ 11 case _ Gloss=(to)|Ref=ECC_3:21!8|MId=o210030210081|Strong=3807a 11 מָ֑עְל מַעַל ADV _ _ 8 obl _ Gloss=upwards|Ref=ECC_3:21!8|MId=o210030210082|Strong=4605 12 ָה ה X _ _ 11 nmod _ Gloss=|Ref=ECC_3:21!8|MId=o210030210083|Strong=1886c|Type=directional_he 13-14 וְר֙וּחַ֙ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 13 וְ וְ CCONJ _ _ 14 cc _ Gloss=and|Ref=ECC_3:21!9|MId=o210030210091|Strong=2050b 14 ר֙וּחַ֙ רוּחַ NOUN _ Number=Sing 3 conj _ Gloss=the.spirit|Ref=ECC_3:21!9|MId=o210030210092|Strong=7307 15-16 הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 15 הַ הַ DET _ PronType=Art 16 det _ Gloss=of|Ref=ECC_3:21!10|MId=o210030210101|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 16 בְּהֵמָ֔ה בְּהֵמָה NOUN _ Gender=Fem|Number=Sing 14 compound:smixut _ Gloss=the.animal[s]|Ref=ECC_3:21!10|MId=o210030210102|Strong=0929 17-18 הַיֹּרֶ֥דֶת _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 17 הַ הַ SCONJ _ _ 18 mark _ Gloss=[which|Ref=ECC_3:21!11|MId=o210030210111|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 18 יֹּרֶ֥דֶת יָרַד VERB _ Gender=Fem|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing 3 parataxis _ Gloss=is].going.down|Ref=ECC_3:21!11|MId=o210030210112|Strong=3381|Frame=A0:210030210092;|Type=participle_active 19 הִ֖יא הִיא PRON _ Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 18 nsubj _ Gloss=it|Ref=ECC_3:21!12|MId=o210030210121|Strong=1931a|Type=personal 20-21 לְמַ֥טָּה _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 20 לְ לְ ADP _ _ 21 case _ Gloss=(to)|Ref=ECC_3:21!13|MId=o210030210131|Strong=3807a 21 מַ֥טָּה מַטָּה ADV _ _ 18 obl _ Gloss=downwards|Ref=ECC_3:21!13|MId=o210030210132|Strong=4295 22-24 לָאָֽרֶץ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 22 לָ לְ ADP _ _ 24 case _ Gloss=to|Ref=ECC_3:21!14|MId=o210030210141|Strong=3807a 23 ה הַ DET _ PronType=Art 24 det _ Gloss=the|Ref=ECC_3:21!14|MId=o210030210141ה|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 24 אָֽרֶץ אֶרֶץ NOUN _ Number=Sing 18 obl _ Gloss=earth|Ref=ECC_3:21!14|MId=o210030210142|Strong=0776 25 ׃ ׃ PUNCT _ _ 24 punct _ Ref=ECC_3:21!14 ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} - form: wh-question - act: ask - voice: character - speech: inside a quote begun earlier - negation: no | verb | form · stem | who (A0) | what, whom (A1) | to whom, further (A2) | who makes it happen (AA) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | יוֹדֵעַ *\[is\] knowing* | participle active · qal | מִי *who?* | עֹלָה *is\] going up* + יֹּרֶדֶת *is\] going down* | | | | עֹלָה *is\] going up* | participle active · qal | רוּחַ *the spirit* | | | | | יֹּרֶדֶת *is\] going down* | participle active · qal | רוּחַ *the spirit* | | | | MACULA's semantic frames: for each verb the head word of each participant. A0 is the one who acts, A1 what the act is done to or is about, A2 a further participant; AA, with a causative verb, the one who makes it happen. ## The Targum {#onkelos} מַן הוּא חַכִּימָא דְּיֵדַּע אִין רוּחַ נִשְׁמְתָא בְנֵי אֱנָשָׁא הֲסָלְקָא הִיא לְעֵילָא לִרְקִיעָא וְרוּחַ נִשְׁמְתָא דִּבְעִירָא הֲנָחֲתָא הִיא לְרַע לְאַרְעָא: The Aramaic translation read beside the Hebrew. Text only: Mova has no Aramaic parser yet. ## English, JPS 1917 {#english} Each sentence on its own page, with its tree and pragmatics. A sentence that runs on into the next verse is listed under the verse it begins in. 1. [Who knoweth the spirit of man whether it goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast whether it goeth downward to the earth?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/ECC.71/) **Hebrew text:** Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. **Tree, glosses and frames:** MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets, available at [github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew](https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew/), [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); converted to Universal Dependencies by Mova (words in text order, a prefix its own word). **Speech act:** Mova's rules on the MACULA words (`macula prag`). **Targum:** Onkelos (Torat Emet), Jonathan and the Writings (Mikraot Gedolot), from Sefaria, public domain. **English:** JPS 1917, public domain; trees and speech acts by Mova's cycle, frames by Mova's reader (Elamur Cosmic License). Hebrew sentence `wlc:ECC:64`. - ← previous: [Ecclesiastes 3:20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.20/) - next →: [Ecclesiastes 3:22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC.3.22/) - ↑ back to [Ecclesiastes 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/ECC/3/)