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. 13 I have also seen this wisdom under the sun, and it was great to me: 14 There was a small city with few men. A mighty king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege ramps against it.
Ecclesiastes 9:12–14
Semantically similar passages
Ecclesiastes 6:1–2
1 There is another evil I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily upon mankind: 2 God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is f…
Ecclesiastes 8:16–17
16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe the task that one performs on the earth—though his eyes do not see sleep in the day or even in the night— 17 I saw every work of God, and that a man is unable to comprehend the work that is done under the sun.…
Ecclesiastes 8:5–7
5 Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. 6 For there is a right time and procedure to every purpose, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him. 7 Since no one knows what will happen, who can tell him w…
Ecclesiastes 2:13–15
13 And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness: 14 The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both. 15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me.…
Ecclesiastes 7:22–24
22 For you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. 23 All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me. 24 What exists is out of reach and very deep. Who can fathom it?
Ecclesiastes 9:1–2
1 So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate. 2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for…
Ecclesiastes 1:13–15
13 And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the… 15 …
Ecclesiastes 2:18–20
18 I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. 19 And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is fu…
Search the collection All books and codes Translations and sources