In the Hebrew, the final phrase of Genesis 3:19 is arranged in a chiasm:
A you return
B to the ground
C since from it you were taken
C’ for dust you are
B’ and to dust
A’ you will return
Adam, having rebelled against God, will become dust again. God promised death for disobedience, and even though the serpent denied death (Genesis 3:4), death will be the end result.1 Adam’s expulsion from the Garden sealed his doom and that of all who follow. With no access to the tree of life (Genesis 3:22), Adam and Eve have lost access to God and the blessing that comes from being in his presence.2 Man is absolutely dependent on God his Creator. When the Lord removes life’s breath from man, he returns to the dust from which he has been taken (Genesis 3:19; Psalm 104:29). To return to dust is the same thing as losing the spirit of life and returning to the mother’s womb, the earth.3
19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”