Ecclesiastes 9:12-1964 bbe — Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of…

Ecclesiastes 9:12-1964 in the Bible in Basic English reads: “Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them. This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me. There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it. Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man. Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing. The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish. Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.”

Ecclesiastes 9:12-1964 is found in the Old Testament, in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 9, verses 12–1964.

Ecclesiastes is traditionally attributed to Solomon (traditional; identified as "the Preacher, son of David"). It was written c. 940 BC.

Ecclesiastes is a candid meditation on life "under the sun" — its pleasures, its pains, and its apparent vanity. The Preacher tries wisdom, wealth, work, and pleasure, finds them all empty without God, and concludes that fearing God and keeping his commandments is the whole of man.

Ecclesiastes explores themes including Vanity, Time, Meaning, Fear of God, Mortality. These themes shape the meaning and context of Ecclesiastes 9:12-1964.

Ecclesiastes 9:12-1964 is available on GodsGoodBook in the King James Version (KJV), American Standard Version (ASV), World English Bible (WEB), NET Bible, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Bible, Douay-Rheims Bible, and the Bible in Basic English. Each translation reflects different translation philosophies — use the translation picker on this page to compare them, or browse our full translations directory.

Ecclesiastes 9:12-1964 reads (BBE): “Even man has no knowledge of his time; like fishes taken in an evil net, or like birds taken by deceit, are the sons of men taken in an evil time when it comes suddenly on them. This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me. There was a little town and the number of its men was small, and there came a great king against it and made an attack on it, building works of war round about it. Now there was in the town a poor, wise man, and he, by his wisdom, kept the town safe. But no one had any memory of that same poor man. Then I said, Wisdom is better than strength, but the poor man's wisdom is not respected, and his words are not given a hearing. The words of the wise which come quietly to the ear are noted more than the cry of a ruler among the foolish. Wisdom is better than instruments of war, but one sinner is the destruction of much good.” Read it aloud, break it into short phrases, repeat each phrase three times before adding the next, then put the phrases together. Reading it in multiple translations (above) often helps the meaning settle.