Ecclesiastes9:12

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Translation

For also man does not know his time. As fish are caught in a net, and as birds are caught in snares that injure

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them, so the sons of men are baited and snared

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suddenly falls upon them.

Paraphrase

For man does not know when his time will be up. As fish are caught in a net, and as birds are caught in snares that injure them, so men of all kinds are baited and snared when situations that Satan has appointed for temptations suddenly come upon them and they are not prepared for them.

Footnotes

1

This is the Hebrew word for “bad, unpleasant, evil,” among many other options. Among those other options, the word “injury” pops up a number of times in some form. Some translations call this snare a “cruel” snare; it is cruel because it has a high likelihood of injuring the bird.

2

This is the same Hebrew word used above and rendered “that injures.” It usually means “bad, unpleasant, evil.” This is another double usage of a word even though each instance in this verse means something different.