Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 9:12

¹²For 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.

Read all of Ecclesiastes 9

Word by word

Each English word or phrase beside the Hebrew it translates, in the order of the English. Choose a number to open that word’s study.

English	Hebrew	Sounds like	Grammar	Word study
For	כִּ֡י	kî	Conjunction	H3588 burning, branding
surely	גַּם֩	gam	Conjunction	H1571 also, moreover, yea
no	לֹֽא־	lō-	Adverb - Negative particle	H3808 not
man	הָאָדָ֜ם	hā·’ā·ḏām	Article; Noun - masculine singular	H120 man, mankind
knows	יֵדַ֨ע	yê·ḏa‘	Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular	H3045 know
his time	עִתּ֗וֹ	‘it·tōw	Noun - common singular construct; third person masculine singular	H6256 time
Like fish	כַּדָּגִים֙	kad·dā·ḡîm	Preposition-k, Article; Noun - masculine plural	H1709 fish
caught	שֶׁנֶּֽאֱחָזִים֙	šen·ne·’ĕ·ḥā·zîm	Pronoun - relative; Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural	H270 grasp, take hold, take possession
in a cruel	רָעָ֔ה	rā·‘āh	Adjective - feminine singular	H7451 bad, evil
net	בִּמְצוֹדָ֣ה	bim·ṣō·w·ḏāh	Preposition-b; Noun - feminine singular	H4685 siege-works
or birds	וְכַ֨צִּפֳּרִ֔ים	wə·ḵaṣ·ṣip·po·rîm	Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article; Noun - common plural	H6833 bird
trapped	הָאֲחֻז֖וֹת	hā·’ă·ḥu·zō·wṯ	Article; Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine plural	H270 grasp, take hold, take possession
in a snare	בַּפָּ֑ח	bap·pāḥ	Preposition-b, Article; Noun - masculine singular	H6341 bird-trap
so men	בְּנֵ֣י	bə·nê	Noun - masculine plural construct	H1121 son
are ensnared	יֽוּקָשִׁים֙	yū·qā·šîm	Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine plural	H3369 lay a bait or lure
in an evil	רָעָ֔ה	rā·‘āh	Adjective - feminine singular	H7451 bad, evil
time	לְעֵ֣ת	lə·‘êṯ	Preposition-l; Noun - common singular construct	H6256 time
that suddenly	פִּתְאֹֽם׃	piṯ·’ōm	Adverb	H6597 suddenness
falls	כְּשֶׁתִּפּ֥וֹל	kə·šet·tip·pō·wl	Preposition-k, Pronoun - relative; Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular	H5307 fall, lie
upon them	עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם	‘ă·lê·hem	Preposition; third person masculine plural	H5921 height

Cross-references

Other passages that speak to the same thing. Point at one to read it.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 · Luke 21:34–36 · Proverbs 6:15 · Proverbs 29:6 · Job 18:8–10 · Luke 12:20 · Psalm 73:18–20 · Ecclesiastes 8:5–7 · 2 Peter 2:12 · Proverbs 7:22–23 · 2 Timothy 2:26 · Luke 19:42–44

Cross-references from OpenBible.info, used under CC BY 4.0. The best-supported references for each verse are shown.

Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.