This verse is interesting because it does not follow the standard practice in Hebrew of putting the subject after the verb. Instead of this it puts the subject wind at the end of the verse. This is done purely for literary effect.

The wind blows to the south: the word blows in Hebrew is the same as the participle “going” in verse 4. The Hebrew does this to link the two verses together as examples of constant motion in nature. We can preserve this same feature in translation if it will help remind the reader of the theme being followed. Otherwise we use the word most natural to describe the movement of wind.

The wind blows toward the south, so it comes out of the north. The two compass directions complement those of the previous verse. This choice is made deliberately to preserve the balance between the two examples given.

And goes round to the north: just as the sun had to dash back during the night to be ready to rise next morning, so the wind circles back to the north so that it can continue to blow. Round and round makes even stronger the illustration of constant circular movement. Four times in this verse the same verb “going round in circles” is used, and so this thought should be emphasized. Many languages will have terms that graphically describe the swirling wind. Others will need to use an adverb or adverbial phrase to get this effect. “It turns here and there” or “it turns again and again” are two possibilities.

There are many languages where there are no terms for “north” or “south.” East and west can be related to the sun, but the other compass points have to be related to something else. Of course Hebrew itself often uses “right” to point south, and “left” to mean “north”: the speaker faced the direction from which the sun rose, and gave directions from there. Translators can use any natural equivalent.

And on its circuits the wind returns: the term circuits speaks of a circular movement, continuing the theme of the poem. A “circuit” is a track or course that finishes at the same point where it begins, and with the verb returns, it here describes the ceaseless movement around the course. New English Bible uses a verbal phrase here: the wind “goes full circle.” We can also render it “it circles round and round.”

This verse consists of one rather long sentence in Hebrew, and it is packed with verbs. The translator may prefer to use shorter sentences such as “The wind blows south. It blows north. It blows round and round and comes back to where it started.”

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 .