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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 prudence, nor yet grace to men of eloquence; but time and chance happens to them all.

12 For man also does not know 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 the evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them.

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11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift
    or the battle to the strong,(A)
nor does food come to the wise(B)
    or wealth to the brilliant
    or favor to the learned;
but time and chance(C) happen to them all.(D)

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(E)
    that fall unexpectedly upon them.(F)

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