Obeying royal orders as an example of wise conduct has been the issue since verse 2. The theme continues in this verse, with the phrase “The one who keeps,” or He who obeys. The object of this action is a command, but the context narrows that meaning so that it refers to commands issued by the king. The present verse appears to be a general saying, so it requires a context for us to apply a particular meaning. Because it is the royal command that is in mind, we can speak of it in those terms.

Will meet no harm is literally “he will not know an evil [or, painful] matter.” Like Revised Standard Version, many versions take the view that those who obey the king’s command will avoid harm to themselves (New International Version, Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible). However, the verb “know” can be used to describe relations between individuals (to “know” God or to “know” a husband or wife). Thus in this context it can mean “to be involved with” or “have dealings with.” In the discussion of verse 3 above, preference was shown for the view that “the unpleasant or painful matter” referred to joining a rebellion. We may retain that explanation here, so the object of the verb “not know” would be “rebellion.” Then the idea will be that the obedient citizen “will not join in” or “will have no dealings with” rebellion. It does not at all mean that he knows nothing of its existence.

The second half of the verse is a mirror image of the first, for the verse has a chiastic structure: in the Hebrew the subject-verb-object pattern of the first half is matched by the object-verb-subject pattern in the second half. The verb in each part of the verse is the verb “know,” first in the negative, and then in the positive. The chiastic structure is not complete, however. Although the subjects refer to the same person, the objects do not.

And the mind of a wise man: here again we meet the Hebrew word for “heart,” rendered as mind; refer to comments on 1.13. For wise man see notes on “wisdom” in the same verse. In this setting the mind of a wise man can be expressed simply as “the wise person.”

Will know is the most important verb in this verse. In this phrase know has a different sense from the previous use, where it spoke of relationship; here it refers to the store of knowledge a person has. Qoheleth appears to be making a wordplay with the verb in this verse.

The time and way are bound together as objects of the verb know. Time served as the key term for the poem and subsequent discussion in chapter 3; refer to comments on that chapter, especially 3.1. Qoheleth now draws the word back into his discussion. In 3.1 we noted that time referred to the appropriate moment, the fixed and determined time, at which an event occurred. This suggests a translation here of “the best time to do things” or “when it is best to act.” Good News Translation uses “when to do it.”

Way (Good News Translation “how”) is actually the term for judgments in a legal context; it is the extent to which a person measures up to certain demands of the Law. Our task is to determine the meaning of the phrase “the wise person knows the time and way.” Good News Translation takes the word in a nonlegal sense, stating that the wise person will know when and how to obey the king’s command. But it is difficult to defend this interpretation. Turning to other possibilities, it is more likely that a meaning closer to “judgment” is intended. It may be that we are talking of the judgments a wise person can make. The wise person can evaluate situations from a proper perspective. Thus he will not get involved in evil conspiracies. However, some commentators see God as the author of this judgment, and so they take the clause to mean “the wise man knows there will be a time of judgment” (see Jerusalem Bible). Bible en français courant interprets similarly: “the wise person has the conviction that at the right time the judgment of God will intervene.”

Suggestions for translation are:

• The one who obeys the royal command does not join in any rebellion against the king; the wise person knows the time and reason for everything.

Or, if the latter interpretation is followed:

• The one who obeys him [the king] will not be involved in evil, because he knows there is a time of judgment.

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 .