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10 No matter what you do, work at it with all your might. Remember, you are going to the place of the dead. And there isn’t any work or planning or knowledge or wisdom there.

11 Here’s something else I’ve seen on this earth.

Races aren’t always won by those who run fast.
    Battles aren’t always won by those who are strong.
Wise people don’t always have plenty of food.
    Clever people aren’t always wealthy.
    Those who have learned a lot aren’t always successful.
God controls the timing of every event.
    He also controls how things turn out.

12 No one knows when trouble will come to them.

Fish are caught in nets.
    Birds are taken in traps.
And people are trapped by hard times
    that come when they don’t expect them.

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10 Whatever(A) your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,(B) for in the realm of the dead,(C) where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.(D)

11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(E)
nor does food come to the wise(F)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(G) happen to them all.(H)

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
    or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times(I)
    that fall unexpectedly upon them.(J)

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