Ecclesiastes 9:12

New International Reader's Version

No one knows when trouble will come to them. Fish are caught in nets. Birds are taken in traps. And people are trapped by hard times that come when they don’t expect them.

Cross References

Psalm 11:6

He will pour out flaming coals and burning sulfur on those who do what is wrong. A hot and dry wind will destroy them.

Proverbs 24:22

The Lord and the king will suddenly destroy them. Who knows what trouble those two can bring?

Proverbs 29:6

Sinful people are trapped by their own sin. But godly people shout for joy and are glad.

Proverbs 6:15

Trouble will catch up with him in an instant. He will suddenly be destroyed, and nothing can save him.

Ecclesiastes 3:19

Surely what happens to animals happens to people too. Death waits for people and animals alike. People die, just as animals do. All of them have the same breath. People don’t have any advantage over animals. Nothing has any meaning.

Ecclesiastes 8:11

Sometimes the sentence for a crime isn’t carried out quickly. So people make plans to commit even more crimes.

Ecclesiastes 8:8

No one can stop the wind from blowing. And no one has the power to decide when they will die. No one is let out of the army in times of war. And evil won’t let go of those who practice it.

Ecclesiastes 9:13

Here’s something else I saw on this earth. I saw an example of wisdom that touched me deeply.

Isaiah 24:18

Anyone who runs away from the terror will fall into the pit. Anyone who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the trap. The Lord will open the windows of the skies. He will flood the land. The foundations of the earth will shake.

Isaiah 30:13

Those sins are like cracks in a high wall. They get bigger and bigger. Suddenly the wall breaks apart. Then it quickly falls down.

Ezekiel 32:3

The Lord and King says, “I will use a large crowd of people to throw my net over you. They will pull you up in it.

Hosea 7:12

When they send for help, I will throw my net over them. I will capture them like the birds in the sky. When I hear them gathering like birds, I will catch them.

Hosea 9:8

People of Ephraim, the prophet, along with my God, is warning you of danger. But you set traps for him everywhere he goes. You hate him so much you even wait for him in God’s house.

Luke 12:20

“But God said to him, ‘You foolish man! Tonight I will take your life away from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

Luke 12:39

But here is what you must understand. Suppose the owner of the house knew at what hour the robber was coming. He would not have let his house be broken into.

2 Corinthians 6:2

He says, “When I had mercy on you, I heard you. On the day I saved you, I helped you.” (Isaiah 49:8) I tell you, now is the time God has mercy. Now is the day he saves.

1 Thessalonians 5:3

People will be saying that everything is peaceful and safe. Then suddenly they will be destroyed. It will happen like birth pains coming on a pregnant woman. None of the people will escape.

2 Timothy 2:26

Maybe they will come to their senses. Maybe they will escape the devil’s trap. He has taken them as prisoners to do what he wanted.

1 Peter 2:12

People who don’t believe might say you are doing wrong. But lead good lives among them. Then they will see your good deeds. And they will give glory to God on the day he comes to judge.

2 Peter 2:12

These people speak evil about things they don’t understand. They are like wild animals who can’t think. Instead, they do what comes naturally to them. They are born only to be caught and destroyed. Just like animals, these people too will die.