Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
Christian Standard Bible
The Limitations of Wisdom
11 Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift,(A) or the battle to the strong,(B) or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them. 12 For certainly no one knows his time:(C) like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap,(D) so people are trapped in an evil time(E) as it suddenly falls on them.(F)
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Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
New Living Translation
11 I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time.
12 People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.
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