In this verse there are again two parallel statements. Each half of the verse is formed by a participial phrase describing a person who pays attention to the weather. A negative verbal phrase then tells what that person should not do if the weather is not appropriate. The illustration is drawn directly from the agricultural life of Israel and reflects the traditional wisdom of the farmer.

He who observes the wind: the Hebrew participle pictures a person who takes special note of things, someone who is very observant. It comes from the root meaning to “obey,” or “keep.” Qoheleth is not talking about someone who casually looks at the direction of the wind, but about the person who studies the wind to decide whether it would be wise or foolish to plant his crop. The subject is almost certainly intended to be the farmer, and so we can make that clear in translation.

Will not sow: readers are meant to understand that the wind direction tells the farmer that it is not the best time to sow or plant the crop. Israelite farmers depended on the rain-bearing winds from the sea to water their crops. Here the unstated meaning is that the farmer looks to the west to see if the wind will bring rain. If the wind is from the eastern deserts, then the farmer knows that it is wrong or foolish to plant, because that wind is hot and dry. In some languages the expression will not sow will have to be expressed more fully. We can say, for example, “he will know it is unwise to sow” or “he will know it is not time to plant.”

Translation suggestions for this part of the verse are:

• The farmer who studies the direction of the wind knows when not to plant his crop.

• The one who observes that the wind is blowing from the desert [or, from the wrong direction] will not plant his crop.

He who regards the clouds parallels the first half of the verse and makes a similar point. Clouds will mean the rain-bearing clouds from the west, from the Mediterranean Sea. The hot east wind is so dry that there are no clouds associated with it. Regards is the verb “see,” used so often by Qoheleth to indicate serious consideration of matters, close observation.

Will not reap: farmers require dry weather when they bring in the grain harvest. If there are clouds rolling in from the west, the possibility of rain is high. This is not the time to reap.

Both sayings state that if a person watches the weather carefully they can successfully plant, grow, and harvest a crop. Experience teaches the farmer these things, and the wise farmer can live by this wisdom. As one of the things we can know, it illustrates the theme in 11.1.

Translation possibilities for this part of the verse are:

• The person who observes the clouds coming from the west knows when not to harvest.

• The farmer who studies the clouds will know when it is unwise to harvest the crop.

Translators will note that many modern translations (Revised English Bible for example) view these sayings negatively: they talk about people who are lazy and spend all their time gazing at the clouds instead of working. We consider this interpretation inadequate and not consistent with the context of the themes set out in 11.1-2. We recommend the above interpretation and translation.

Again, if translators want to preserve the literary flavor of the Hebrew, they can imitate the parallel forms in this verse. As in the previous verse, the clauses are joined by a conjunction that can be left untranslated, or rendered as “and.”

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 .