9:12a For surely no man knows his time:

You can’t predict when your end will come. (FBV)
-or-
Nobody knows the time when trouble may come to them. (EEB)

9:12b Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare,

People trap fish in nets and catch birds in snares.
-or-
A fish does not know when somebody will catch it in a net. A bird does not know when somebody will catch it in a trap. (EEB)

9:12c so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

Just like that, bad times suddenly happen to people and they cannot escape.
-or-
In the same way, terrible trouble suddenly happens to people when they do not expect it. (EEB)

9:12a-c (combined)

Moreover, no one knows when they will die. As fish are caught ⌊and killed⌋ in an evil net, or birds are caught ⌊and killed⌋ in a trap, so people are trapped by their death when it happens ⌊to them⌋ unexpectedly.
-or-
Bad things can happen to all of us. A fish does not know when somebody will catch it. A bird does not know when somebody will catch it. That is like us. We do not know when something bad will happen. (EASY2015)

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