Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
English Standard Version
Wisdom Better Than Folly
11 (A)Again I saw that under the sun (B)the race is not to the swift, nor (C)the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and (D)chance (E)happen to them all. 12 For man (F)does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and (G)like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are (H)snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
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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.
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.