The early bird gets the worm, says the old proverb, and here Solomon seems to be encouraging us to get up and get on with things. If the weather is fine, then sow you seed in the morning, as early as possible, because conditions may change later. So perhaps the lesson is one of time management, identifying priorities and putting first things first – and not being over-confident and idle and so squander potentially productive time.

However, having sown his seed earlier in the day, the farmer is then encouraged to undertake some other productive work in the evening, when it may be too dark to work outside – possibly implying a non-agricultural project of some kind. Although either venture may fail, it is very unlikely that both will. Perhaps a second lesson, then, is the importance of sensible and appropriate diversification as a hedge against adversity – a principle expressed by the old proverb of not putting all your eggs in one basket.