Ecclesiastes 9:12

10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

For 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.

13 This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me:

14 There 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:

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
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.
KJV
For 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.
WEB
For man also doesn’t know his time. As the fish that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly on them.
ASV
For 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, even so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
DARBY
For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are taken with the snare, like them are the children of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
BLB
For even the man does not know his time; like the fish taken in a cruel net, and like the birds that are grabbed by the snare, so for them: The sons of men [are] snared in an evil time, when it falls upon them suddenly.
ÅB
For mennesket kjenner like så lite sin tid som fiskene som fanges i det onde garn, eller fuglene som blir fanget i snaren; slik som de fanges også menneskenes barn i en ond tid, når den med ett kommer over dem.
OTB
Ingen vet når deres tid vil komme: som fisk fanget i et farlig nett, eller fugler fanget i en snare, slik blir mennesker fanget i en ond tid når den plutselig faller over dem.
B1930
For mennesket kjenner like så lite sin tid som fiskene som fanges i det onde garn, eller fuglene som blir fanget i snaren; likesom de fanges også menneskenes barn i en ond tid, når den med ett kommer over dem.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references