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Ecclesiastes 9:12-14
New American Standard Bible

Chapter 9

12For indeed, a person does not know his time: like fish that are caught in a treacherous net and birds caught in a snare, so the sons of mankind are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.
13This too I saw as wisdom under the sun, and it impressed me: 14there was a small city with few men in it, and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it.
King James Version

Chapter 9

12For man also knoweth not 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 an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them. 13This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:
14There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
Christian Standard Bible

Chapter 9

12For certainly no one knows his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them.
13I have observed that this also is wisdom under the sun, and it is significant to me: 14There was a small city with few men in it. A great king came against it, surrounded it, and built large siege works against it.
New Living Translation

Chapter 9

12People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.
13Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. 14There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it.
English Standard Version

Chapter 9

12For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them.
13I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. 14There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it.
New International Version

Chapter 9

12Moreover, 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 that fall unexpectedly upon them.
13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it.
New King James Version

Chapter 9

12For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.
13This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it.
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