12 For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.
Ecclesiastes 9:12
Semantically similar passages
Ecclesiastes 8:7–9
7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him what is to come? 8 As no man has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has authority over his day of death. As no one can be discharged in wartime, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. 9 …
Ecclesiastes 6:11–12
11 For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone? 12 For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?
Proverbs 7:22–24
22 He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap, 23 until an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare— not knowing it will cost him his life. 24 Now, my sons, listen to me, and attend to the words of my…
Ecclesiastes 3:18–20
18 I said to myself, “As for the sons of men, God tests them so that they may see for themselves that they are but beasts.” 19 For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over… 20 …
Wisdom of Solomon 2:4–6
4 Our name will be forgotten in time. No one will remember our works. Our life will pass away as the traces of a cloud, and will be scattered as is a mist, when it is chased by the rays of the sun, and overcome by its heat. (WEB) 5 For our allotted time is the passing o… (WEB)
Ecclesiastes 5:15–17
15 As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands. 16 This too is a grievous evil: Exactly as a man is born, so he will depart. What does he gain as he toils for the wind? 17 Moreo…
Job 18:7–9
7 His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up. 8 For his own feet lead him into a net, and he wanders into its mesh. 9 A trap seizes his heel; a snare grips him.
2 Baruch 14:9–10
9 Or who will be able to think out Thy incomprehensible counsel? Or who of those that are born has ever found The beginning or end of Thy wisdom? (2BA) 10 For we have all been made like a breath. For as the breath ascends involuntarily, and again dies, so it is with the… (2BA)
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