WETIN you de do when you want know wetin be time? Maybe you go look your wristwatch or clock. If person ask you time, how you go talk-am? Plenty different way dey to tell person time. So which one you go use?

For example, make we talk say time na one hour 30 minutes after 12 o’clock for afternoon. Because of the place wey you de live, you fit talk say time na 1:30. Or you fit talk say na 13:30 as people for your area de talk. For some other place, people fit talk say na “half two.” This one mean say na 30 minutes remain make 2 o’clock reach.

As person wey e de read Bible, you fit de ask yourself say, how people that time de check time? The truth be say no be only one way dey. Hebrew Scriptures talk about “morning,” “noon,” “midday,” and “evening.” (Gen. 8:11; 19:27; 43:16; Deut. 28:29; 1 Ki. 18:26) But sometimes people de use the exact time.

For Bible, e dey common for people to use watch-men, especially for night. Plenty-plenty years before they born Jesus, Israel people divide night into three part and they call them watches. (Ps. 63:6) Judges 7:19 talk about “the middle night watch.” When Jesus dey this earth, Jew people don begin de use the way Greek and Roman people de divide time into four parts (or watch) for night.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John talk about this watch many times. For example, na “for watch number four for night” Jesus waka ontop water go meet the disciples inside boat. (Matt. 14:25) Jesus talk one story say: “If the owner of the house sabi which watch the thief de come, e no for sleep and allow make they break the house enter.”​—Matt. 24:43.

Jesus de talk about all the four watch when e tell the disciples say: “Continue de watch, because wuna no sabi when the master of the house de come, whether he go come late for the day or for midnight or before day break or early morning.” (Mark 13:35; ftn.) The first watch (“late for the day”) de start from when sun don go down go reach nine o’clock for night. The second watch (“midnight” watch) de start from nine o’clock for night go reach midnight. The third watch (for Bible na “before day break” or when “cock crow”) de start from midnight go reach around three o’clock for morning. E fit be say, true-true, na for this watch cock crow that night wey they catch Jesus. (Mark 14:72) Watch number four (“early morning” watch) de start from about three o’clock for early morning go reach when sun de come out.

So, even though say for Bible time people no get clock as we get today, they still get how them de know time for day or for night.