The cycles of the year: There is a textual problem here. In some manuscripts year is plural (“years”). This affects the meaning. If we accept the singular, the phrase refers to occasions that recur at definite times each year. If we accept the plural, the reference is to the technicalities of the solar year and the lunar year. The plural is more probable, and is chosen by Good News Translation with “and the cycles of years” and Contemporary English Version with “about the way the years come and go on schedule.”

And the constellations of the stars is literally “and the positions of the stars.” This could refer to the constellations, but it could also refer to the movement of the stars during the course of the year; for example, “and about the way the stars move during the year.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.