Ecclesiastes 9:12 — Bible Verse (KJV)
“For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.”
Ecclesiastes 9:12 — King James Version (KJV), 1611
Ecclesiastes 9:12 in 6 Bible Translations
Read Ecclesiastes 9:12 in the King James Version (KJV) and 5 other free, public-domain translations side by side.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 WEB — World English Bible (2000)
“For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.”
Ecclesiastes 9:12 — World English Bible
Ecclesiastes 9:12 ASV — American Standard Version (1901)
“For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. ”
Ecclesiastes 9:12 — American Standard Version
Ecclesiastes 9:12 YLT — Young's Literal Translation (1862)
“For even man knoweth not his time; as fish that are taken hold of by an evil net, and as birds that are taken hold of by a snare, like these <FI>are<Fi> the sons of man snared at an evil time, when it falleth upon them suddenly.”
Ecclesiastes 9:12 — Young's Literal Translation
Ecclesiastes 9:12 DBY — Darby Translation (1890)
“For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are taken with the snare, like them are the children of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. ”
Ecclesiastes 9:12 — Darby Translation
Ecclesiastes 9:12 GEN — Geneva Bible (1599)
“For neither doth man knowe his time, but as the fishes which are taken in an euill net, and as the birdes that are caught in the snare: so are the children of men snared in the euill time when it falleth vpon them suddenly.”
Ecclesiastes 9:12 — Geneva Bible
Ecclesiastes 9:12 in Context — Ecclesiastes 9
10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
14 There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Read the full chapter: Ecclesiastes 9 — God's Sovereign Election →
What Does Ecclesiastes 9:12 Mean?
Ecclesiastes 9:12 is a verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes, part of the Old Testament. It appears in Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Use The Living Sword's word-by-word study mode to explore every word in the original Hebrew and Aramaic.
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