Ecclesiastes 9:12
“The Role of Chance and Time”Ecclesiastes 9:11–12
Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain
Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain
Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain
Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain
Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain
Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain
- כִּיkiforH3588PrtParticle Conditional
- גַּםgamalsoH1571AdvAdverb
- לֹאlo'notH3808NegParticle Negative
- יֵדַעye·Da'he knowsH3045V-Qal-Imperf-3msVerb Qal Imperfect 3rd Singular Masculine
- הָאָדָםha·'a·Dam[the] humankindH120Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהָ[the]אָדָםhumankind
- אֶת'et[obj.]H853DirObjMParticle Object Indicator
- עִתּוֹi·Tohis timeH6256N-csc ¦ 3msNoun Singular common gender Construct with suffixעִתּtimeוֹhis
- כַּדָּגִיםka·da·Gimlike [the] fish[es]H1709Prep-k ¦ N-mpNoun Plural Masculine Absoluteכַּlike [the]דָּגִיםfish[es]
- שֶׁנֶּאֱחָזִיםshe·ne·'e·cha·Zimthat [are] caughtH270Rel-s ¦ V-Niphal-Prtcpl-mpVerb Niphal Participle Plural Masculine Absoluteשֶׁthatנֶּאֱחָזִים[are] caught
- בִּמְצוֹדָהbim·tzo·Dahin a netH4685Prep-b ¦ N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absoluteבִּinמְצוֹדָהa net
- רָעָהra·'AhevilH7451Adj-fsAdjective Singular Feminine Absolute
- וְכַצִּפֳּרִיםve·Khatz·tzi·po·Rimand like [the] birdsH6833Conj-w ¦ Prep-k ¦ N-cpNoun Plural common gender Absoluteוְandכַlike [the]צִּפֳּרִיםbirds
- הָאֲחֻזוֹתha·'a·chu·Zotthat are caughtH270Art ¦ V-Qal-PassPrtcpl-fpVerb Qal Participle Passive Plural Feminine Absoluteהָthatאֲחֻזוֹתare caught
- בַּפָּחba·Pachin [the] snareH6341Prep-b ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteבַּin [the]פָּחsnare
- כָּהֵםka·Hemlike [the] themPrep-k ¦ 3mpSuffix Personal 3rd Plural Masculineכָּlike [the]הֵםthem
- יוּקָשִׁיםyu·ka·Shim[are] ensnaredH3369V-Qal-PassPrtcpl-mpVerb Qal Participle Passive Plural Masculine Absolute
- בְּנֵיbe·Nei[the] children ofH1121N-mpcNoun Plural Masculine Construct
- הָאָדָםha·'a·Dam[the] humankindH120Art ¦ N-msNoun Singular Masculine Absoluteהָ[the]אָדָםhumankind
- לְעֵתle·'Etto a timeH6256Prep-l ¦ N-cscNoun Singular common gender Constructלְtoעֵתa time
- רָעָהra·'AhevilH7451N-fsNoun Singular Feminine Absolute
- כְּשֶׁתִּפּוֹלke·shet·ti·Polwhen that [it] fallsH5307Prep-k ¦ Rel-s ¦ V-Qal-Imperf-3fsVerb Qal Imperfect 3rd Singular Feminineכְּwhenשֶׁthatתִּפּוֹל[it] falls
- עֲלֵיהֶם'a·lei·Hemon themH5921Prep ¦ 3mpPreposition Definiteעֲלֵיonהֶםthem
- פִּתְאֹםpit·'OmsuddenlyH6597AdvAdverb
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Hebrew, not the KJV's wording. Why?
This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Hebrew word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Hebrew word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “the LORD” where the gloss reads “Yahweh”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.
Words in [ ] are added by the English.
Details
Study this verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Ecclesiastes 9:11–12. He set out his notes in a three-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.
The preacher here, for a further proof of the vanity of the world, and to convince us that all our works are in the hand of God, and not in our own hand, shows the uncertainty and contingency of future events, and how often they contradict the prospects we have of them. He had exhorted us (Ecclesiastes 9:10) to do what we have to do with all our might; but here he reminds us that, when we have done all, we must leave the issue with God, and not be confident of the success.
I.We are often disappointed of the good we had great hopes of, Ecclesiastes 9:11.
Solomon had himself made the observation, and so has many a one since, that events, both in public and private affairs, do not always agree even with the most rational prospects and probabilities. Nulli fortuna tam dedita est ut multa tentanti ubique respondeat - Fortune surrenders herself to no one so as to ensure him success, however numerous his undertakings. Seneca. The issue of affairs is often unaccountably cross to every one's expectation, that the highest may not presume, nor the lowest despair, but all may live in a humble dependence upon God, from whom every man's judgment proceeds.
1.He gives instances of disappointment, even where means and instruments were most encouraging and promised fair.
(1.)One would think that the lightest of foot should, in running, win the prize; and yet the race is not always to the swift; some accident happens to retard them, or they are too secure, and therefore remiss, and let those that are slower get the start of them.
(2.)One would think that, in fighting, the most numerous and powerful army should be always victorious, and, in single combat, that the bold and mighty champion should win the laurel; but the battle is not always to the strong; a host of Philistines was once put to flight by Jonathan and his man; one of you shall chase a thousand; the goodness of the cause has often carried the day against the most formidable power.
(3.)One would think that men of sense should always be men of substance, and that those who know how to live in the world should not only have a plentiful maintenance, but get great estates; and yet it does not always prove so; even bread is not always to the wise, much less riches always to men of understanding. Many ingenious men, and men of business, who were likely to thrive in the world, have strangely gone backward and come to nothing.
(4.)One would think that those who understand men, and have the art of management, should always get preferment and obtain the smiles of great men; but many ingenious men have been disappointed, and have spent their days in obscurity, nay, have fallen into disgrace, and perhaps have ruined themselves by those very methods by which they hoped to raise themselves, for favour is not always to men of skill, but fools are favoured and wise men frowned upon.
2.He resolves all these disappointments into an over-ruling power and providence, the disposals of which to us seem casual, and we call them chance, but really they are according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, here called time, in the language of this book, Ecclesiastes 3:1; Psalm 31:15. Time and chance happen to them all. A sovereign Providence breaks men's measures, and blasts their hopes, and teaches them that the way of man is not in himself, but subject to the divine will. We must use means, but not trust to them; if we succeed, we must give God the praise (Psalm 44:3); if we be crossed, we must acquiesce in his will and take our lot.
II.We are often surprised with the evils we were in little fear of (Ecclesiastes 9:12):
Man knows not his time, the time of his calamity, his fall, his death, which, in scripture, is called our day and our hour.
1.We know not what troubles are before us, which will take us off our business, and take us out of the world, what time and chance will happen to us, nor what one day, or a night, may bring forth. It is not for us to know the times, no, not our own time, when or how we shall die. God has, in wisdom, kept us in the dark, that we may be always ready.
2.Perhaps we may meet with trouble in that very thing wherein we promise ourselves the greatest satisfaction and advantage; as the fishes and the birds are drawn into the snare and net by the bait laid to allure them, which they greedily catch at, so are the sons of men often snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them, before they are aware. And these things too come alike to all. Men often find their bane where they sought their bless, and catch their death where they thought to find a prize. Let us therefore never be secure, but always ready for changes, that, though they may be sudden, they may be no surprise or terror to us.
Historical interpretation
Historical reception
3 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
Now as these things are written in the Scriptures, the case is clear, that the saints know that a certain time is measured to every person, but that no one knows the end of that time is plainly intimated by the words of David, “Declare unto me the shortness of my days.” What he did not know, that he desired to be informed of. Accordingly the rich man also, while he thought that he had yet a long time to live, heard the words, “You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided?” And the Preacher speaks confidently in the Holy Spirit, and says, “Man also knows not his time.” Wherefore the patriarch Isaac said to his son Esau, “Behold, I am old, and I know not the day of my death.” Our Lord, therefore, although as God and the Word of the Father, both knew the time measured out by him to all and was conscious of the time for suffering, which he himself had appointed also to his own body. Yet since he was made man for our sakes, he hid himself when he was sought after before that time came, as we do; when he was persecuted, he fled; and avoiding the designs of his enemies he passed by, and “so went through the midst of them.” But when he had brought on that time which he himself had appointed, at which he desired to suffer in the body for all men, he announces it to the Father, saying, “Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son.” And then he no longer hid himself from those who sought him but stood willing to be taken by them; for the Scripture says, he said to them that came unto him, “Whom do you seek?” And when they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth,” he said unto them, “I am he whom you seek.”
Many can know chronological time. Everybody, for example, knows that noon is the time for healthy people to eat lunch. The time, however, which is determined by physicians, is not known to everyone but only to the physician. And since there is only one physician for the soul, to whom we say, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you,” only this physician knows our time. But the individual does not know his time. The inhabitants of Tyre, for example, who would have been ready to repent if the supernatural miracles had occurred among them—they did not know the time.
" For man does not even know his
time, like fish caught in a fatal net, like birds seized in a snare, so are men
caught in the moment of disaster when it falls upon them suddenly. "I have already said above, that while men are yet
unknowing, either disaster or death befalls them. More precisely we should look at this as
allegory, that the realm of the sky is similar to a net cast into the sea; and
on the other hand heretics have nets, in which they capture fish, leading to
their death. Their net though is affable
language, flattering speeches, feigned or forced fasting, poor clothes, and an
imitation of virtues. And if they begin
to argue about the divine and raise their face to the heavens to seek the
heights of God, then they cast a noose into the heavenly abodes. So just as fish and birds are seized of a
sudden by such a net, and by such a noose, so wickedness is increased many
times and the kindness of many fails; and the signs and portents are seen in
such a way as to entice even the chosen of God if possible. See too those men of the Church, who are
called the children of men, and are of modest faith, and who can be overcome
quickly. Note too, that the term "sons of men" is used throughout the whole
book, and the Hebrew has "sons of man",
this is 'the sons of Adam'. And almost
all scripture is filled with this idiom that sees the sons of Adam as the sons
of all men.
Continue studying Ecclesiastes 9:12 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.
This verse
No one knows his own time, and like fish taken in a net or birds caught in a snare, people are caught when an evil time falls on them suddenly.
“For man also knoweth not his time:”
“For” ties this to verse 11. Besides the chances of life, a man is ignorant of his own hour, whether of misfortune or of death.
“as the fishes that are taken in an evil net,”
The net is made for the fish’s capture, and “evil” here means harmful.
“and as the birds that are caught in the snare;”
The pach is a hidden trap that springs shut on a bird that never saw it.
“so are the sons of men snared in an evil time,”
“The sons of men” is all mankind. The evil time, ʻêth raʻ, is a time of calamity.
“when it falleth suddenly upon them.”
It falls with full force and without warning, and it leaves no room to prepare or escape.
Passage studyEcclesiastes 9:11–12
Time and Chance Happen to Them All
Summary
The Preacher, whom tradition identifies as Solomon, looks again at life under the sun. He sees the swift lose the race and the strong lose the battle, while the wise, the understanding and the skilful go without the bread, riches and favour their gifts would lead us to expect. Time and chance happen to them all. Then he adds that a man knows his own time as little as a fish knows the net or a bird the snare, and that an evil time can fall on anyone suddenly. These two verses humble every confidence we place in our own abilities and foresight, and the rest of Scripture shows us that the times we cannot see are in God’s hand.
Why the race is not to the swift
“I returned, and saw under the sun” takes up the Preacher’s method again. He looks at life as it can be observed and lived on earth, and he looks more deeply this time. “Under the sun” runs all through Ecclesiastes and marks this earthly view: life as we see it from here, where God’s hand at work is usually out of sight. He has just told his readers to eat their bread with joy and to work at whatever their hand finds to do with all their might (Ecclesiastes 9:7–10). Now he adds a caution to that counsel. Work hard, and expect no guarantee that hard work will win.
He gives five pairs. The first two are physical: speed ought to win a race, and strength ought to win a battle. The other three come from the mind and from craft. “Bread” is daily sustenance, and we expect the wise to have it. “Riches” we expect for men of understanding. “Favour”, which covers acceptance, influence and standing with other people, we expect for men of skill. Each of these gifts is real and useful, and each usually brings its reward, and the Preacher has watched every one of them fail to bring it. So the point reaches from the race and the battlefield to the market, the household and the court.
Israel’s wisdom held wisdom, strength and skill in high honour, and Proverbs speaks of the blessings that come with wisdom (Proverbs 3:13–18). Ecclesiastes adds what an honest look at the world shows: the link between merit and reward is real but loose, and it breaks often enough that no one can count on it. Job wrestled with the same thing when he asked why the wicked prosper (Job 21:7–8). The Preacher goes straight on to a story that makes the point: a wise man in a small city whose wisdom wins him no lasting recognition or reward (Ecclesiastes 9:13–18).
Time and chance happen to them all
The verse closes with the reason: “but time and chance happeneth to them all.” The word for time, ʻêth, means an appointed time, a season or a critical moment. Here it is the moment at which things unfold, and it often decides the outcome whatever the preparation or skill. The “when” of an event can matter as much as the “what”, and an opportunity can be met or missed by timing alone.
The word for chance, pegaʻ, means an occurrence, something that meets a person. Strong’s gives it as “impact (casual); chance, occurrent”. Joined with time, it speaks of the unforeseen events that come into human affairs, and they can undo the most careful plan or bring success just as unexpectedly. The verb “happeneth” is qârâh, “to light upon”, chiefly by accident. These things come upon people whatever their merit or effort. “To them all” takes in every one of the five pairs, the swift with the slow and the wise with the foolish.
That is the sum of the matter under the sun. It belongs with the book’s opening cry, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Vanity there is hebel, and it describes how little lasting hold we have on life when we look only at what lies under the sun.
Is chance outside God’s rule?
What looks like chance from under the sun is under the LORD’s rule all the same. The Preacher reports what he sees, and the rest of Scripture tells us who stands behind it. “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33). The lot is the plainest picture of chance there is, and its every outcome comes from him. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). The times and chances that surprise us are the working out of God’s providence. His ways are often beyond our understanding and our prediction, and they always follow his sovereign, wise and good will. His plan rests on his own purpose, apart from our merit or our reckoning, and that is why it holds.
Does this verse make effort pointless?
The Preacher wants us to work hard and to hold the results humbly. One verse earlier he wrote, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). Diligence, wisdom and strength keep their worth. What this verse takes away is the pride and self-reliance that treats them as a guarantee. James gives the right way to plan: “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:13–15). We use the gifts God has given us as faithful stewards, and we leave the outcome with him.
Some find the verse gloomy. It is honest realism, and it clears the ground for a humbler faith. Once the illusion of control is gone, we can see God’s grace and sovereignty more clearly, rest content when results fail to match effort, and find joy in the present and in what God provides, which is where the Preacher has just pointed us.
Man knoweth not his time
Verse 12 opens with “For”, and carries the thought further. Time happens to everyone, and on top of that, “man also knoweth not his time.” The verb yâdaʻ covers every kind of knowing, from simple observation to deep experience. What man lacks here is foresight. No wisdom, planning or effort lets him discern or predict the moment of his own death or of some great misfortune.
“His time” is ʻêth again, the word of verse 11, and here it is the moment of calamity, suffering or death. Earlier the Preacher wrote, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–8). The times are appointed, and the person they belong to is the one who knows them least. He has already said that what will be is hidden from man (Ecclesiastes 8:6–7), and that all, the righteous and the wicked, the wise and the foolish, share one end (Ecclesiastes 9:2–3). Now he speaks of the timing of that end and of the troubles before it.
Scripture says the same in many places. “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). James writes, “ye know not what shall be on the morrow” (James 4:14). Jesus said of the day of his coming, “of that day and hour knoweth no man” (Matthew 24:36). The times hidden from us are open to God, and Job speaks of times that are not hidden from the Almighty (Job 24:1).
The net and the snare
The Preacher gives two pictures, joined by “as… so”. Fish are “taken in an evil net”, mâtsôwd raʻ, a net made for their capture, and “evil” marks how harmful and final it is. Birds are “caught in the snare”, the pach, a hidden trap that springs shut without warning. Fishing and fowling were common ways of getting food in Israel, so every hearer had seen a fish or a bird caught unawares.
“So are the sons of men snared.” The sons of men is a common Hebrew way of saying all mankind. The verb yâqôsh means to ensnare, literally in a trap or figuratively by deceit or by circumstances, and it carries surprise and capture together. The evil time “falleth”, nâphal, and it does so “suddenly”, pithʼôwm. It comes with full force and leaves no time to prepare or escape. In a world without modern medicine, where sudden illness, famine, disaster and war could come at any time, life was always precarious, and these pictures needed no explaining.
What is an “evil time”?
An evil time is a time of calamity: disaster, harm or sudden misfortune such as illness, accident or death. The word raʻ can describe moral evil elsewhere, and here it describes what the time does to people. Ecclesiastes speaks of hardship in the same way when it calls the task God has given the sons of men a “sore travail” (Ecclesiastes 1:13) and the work wrought under the sun “grievous” (Ecclesiastes 2:17). Such a time comes to the righteous as readily as to anyone, and it need carry no punishment. It belongs to the limits of the created order and to life in a fallen world, and it remains in the hand of the Creator, who alone holds the times and seasons.
Christ, the bread of life and the Lord of our times
The things the Preacher says no gift can secure are given in Christ. The race of salvation is won by God’s grace through faith, the gift of God, apart from any swiftness of ours (Ephesians 2:8–9). The decisive battle against sin and death was won at the cross, which the world counted weak and foolish, and “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). The bread the wise cannot be sure of earning is freely given by Jesus, who said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). The riches are the spiritual blessings God has given us in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). And favour with God comes through Christ’s obedience and sacrifice, by which we receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4–7).
Christ also answers the evil time and the snare. We still do not know our time, and he is Lord of all time, the one who holds the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18). He told his disciples to be ready, “for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). Through his death he destroyed the power of the one who had the power of death and set free those held all their lives by the fear of it (Hebrews 2:14–15). Death and calamity are still real for believers, but they are no longer a snare that ends in despair, and Paul could say, “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Our times are in his hand
The Preacher gives us an honest account of life. Gifts and effort fail to secure their rewards, timing and chance decide more than we would like, and trouble can come as suddenly as a net closing on a fish. He says it plainly so that we stop trusting in our own speed, strength and wisdom.
What he sees from under the sun, God sees from above it. The lot falls as the LORD disposes, and the hour we cannot know is known to him. David could pray, “My times are in thy hand” (Psalm 31:15), and Jesus tells his people that in the world they will have tribulation, and to be of good cheer, because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). So we can work with all our might and enjoy the gifts of each day while leaving the race, the battle and the hour with the God who holds them.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
“I returned, and saw under the sun,”
The Preacher looks again, with the same earthly eye he uses through the whole book, right after his call to work with all one’s might in verse 10.
“that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,”
Two contests where the outcome looks settled in advance by speed and strength, and still it can go the other way.
“neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill;”
The same holds for the gifts of mind and craft. Bread is daily sustenance, and favour is standing and influence with others.
“but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
ʻêth is the moment, pegaʻ the occurrence that meets a person, and qârâh the verb for lighting upon someone, chiefly by accident. “All” leaves out none of the five.
Ecclesiastes 9:12 This verse
“For man also knoweth not his time:”
“For” ties this to verse 11. Besides the chances of life, a man is ignorant of his own hour, whether of misfortune or of death.
“as the fishes that are taken in an evil net,”
The net is made for the fish’s capture, and “evil” here means harmful.
“and as the birds that are caught in the snare;”
The pach is a hidden trap that springs shut on a bird that never saw it.
“so are the sons of men snared in an evil time,”
“The sons of men” is all mankind. The evil time, ʻêth raʻ, is a time of calamity.
“when it falleth suddenly upon them.”
It falls with full force and without warning, and it leaves no room to prepare or escape.
Last revised