This verse contains two parallel statements, each consisting of two clauses and drawing an illustration from the natural world. It states the principle that a given condition (clouds full of rain; a tree falling) has certain results. We can discover these results and even predict them, so although the verb “find” does not occur, it is obvious that these examples are to illustrate the first theme: some things we can find out.
If the clouds are full of rain: in Israel, where rainfall is seasonal and the direction of the wind significant, dark rain-bearing clouds rolling in from the sea signal the coming of rain. Qoheleth uses this illustration from nature because it is so familiar to his readers. In many languages If can also be translated “When” and still retain the conditional idea. This is what New Revised Standard Version suggests.
There are no real difficulties with the Hebrew text, although the noun rain, because of its position in the sentence, may be either the object of the verb “are full of” or the subject of the verb “empty themselves.” This part of the verse says literally “If they are full the clouds rain upon the earth they pour.” It is possible that rain is meant to serve both functions. However, the second verb, “they pour out,” is plural, so it is more likely that clouds and not rain is the subject of the second clause. Thus the Revised Standard Version rendering seems correct.
The translator should translate idiom for idiom in this instance. Hebrew says “the clouds are full” to express the fact that rain will soon come. Translators should choose the proper expression in their own language: “When the clouds are heavy with moisture,” “If the clouds are dark with rain,” or whatever is natural.
They empty themselves on the earth: this is the inevitable result of the scene painted in the first clause. Again the translator should substitute the most natural expression for rainfall. Good News Translation expresses it very briefly with “it rains.” There is nothing wrong with this kind of translation, though we may want to use a future tense “it will rain” rather than the present tense. We can also convey the Hebrew imperfect more clearly with “it always rains.” In place of the reflexive “empty themselves,” New Revised Standard Version suggests “they empty rain on the earth.”
On the earth has a slightly different meaning than the same phrase in the previous verse, where it can mean “in society.” Here it literally means “on the ground.”
The first example in the verse, then, demonstrates the truth that some things in this world can be known or discovered if we observe carefully.
And if a tree falls: here is a simple case of a tree falling over. It is presented as a conditional clause, inviting the reader to imagine the scene. New Revised Standard Version uses “whether” in place of “and if.”
To the south or to the north represent two possible and opposite directions. In some languages, such as English, it is more natural to say “north or south” rather than “south or north.” This reversal of order is completely acceptable in translation, since there is no change in the meaning. The terms south and north are not known in some languages; they have only names for “east” and “west.” In these cases the normal expression may be “up” for north and “down” for south, or even “left” and “right.” The point of the saying is not dependent upon precise geographical direction, so we can use any two opposing compass points if necessary, or alternatively do as Good News Translation does and say “no matter in which direction.”
In the place where the tree falls, there it will lie: in the previous example an action in nature had certain results. In this case the tree remains where it falls. This is a simple statement of something we can know for certain. We do not have to engage in discussion or argument about how long it may stay there, or whether it can or cannot be moved, and such like. An inanimate object, a tree, falls and it lies where it fell. The final word speaks of continued existence in a place. We can translate as Revised Standard Version, or we can say “there it will stay” or “there it remains.”
The word order in Revised Standard Version reflects the word order in Hebrew. In both clauses, the focus is on location: in the place where … there. The form emphasizes that an object like a tree cannot change its position. This second illustration makes the point that we can know certain things about our world, and so it demonstrates the theme of 11.1.
Translation of the second half of the verse can follow Revised Standard Version, or say “when a tree falls, whether toward the south or the north, it stays there [where it fell]”; or it may follow Good News Translation, “No matter in which direction a tree falls, it will lie where it fell.”
There seems no logical reason for Good News Translation to change the order of the two parts of this verse, though Good News Translation may have assumed that mention of rain in verse 3 should logically come before the farming illustrations of verse 4. This is not necessary, so translators need not follow the Good News Translation reordering.
We noted earlier that the two halves of this verse begin with a conditional “if.” The two clauses are joined by a conjunction, which can be translated as “and” (so Revised Standard Version) or left untranslated (New International Version). Since we are dealing with pairs of lines of similar structure throughout this subsection, the translator may try to maintain this repetitive style. The conditional form may not be the best choice in every instance. If we do choose to adapt it, we should still try to maintain parallel grammatical structures. We can say for example:
• When the clouds are dark, the rain comes pouring down.
• When a tree falls, whether to the north or south, it stays where it lands.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .