11 I have seen something else under the sun:

The race is not to the swift

or the battle to the strong,o

nor does food come to the wisep

or wealth to the brilliant

or favor to the learned;

but time and chanceq happen to them all.r

12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,

or birds are taken in a snare,

so people are trapped by evil timess

that fall unexpectedly upon them.t

Wisdom Better Than Folly

13 I also saw under the sun this example of wisdomu that greatly impressed me: 14 There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15 Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man.v 16 So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.w