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This is an expression from the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, a part of the Christian
burial rite. This is the passage from the edition of 1549:
Then the priest castyng earth upon
the Corps, shall saye.
I COMMENDE thy soule to God the father almighty, and
thy body to the grounde, earth to earth, asshes to asshes, dust
to dust, in sure and certayne hope of resurreccion to eternall
lyfe, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall chaunge our vile
body, that it may be lyke to his glorious body, accordyng to
the myghtie workyng wherby he is hable to subdue all thynges
to himselfe.
The passage is rooted in that moment in Genesis 3 as God punishes Adam and Eve for their
sin:
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto
the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I
commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the
ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days
of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and
thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return
unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (KJV)
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