diff --git a/lib/sql.js b/lib/sql.js
index 4176996..484f4cd 100644
--- a/lib/sql.js
+++ b/lib/sql.js
@@ -1216,6 +1216,9 @@ SQLConnector.prototype.buildOrderBy = function(model, order) {
       clauses.push(self.columnEscaped(model, t[0]) + ' ' + t[1]);
     }
   }
+  if (!clauses.length) {
+    return '';
+  }
   return 'ORDER BY ' + clauses.join(',');
 };
 
diff --git a/test/sql.test.js b/test/sql.test.js
index 7243f29..1b323b6 100644
--- a/test/sql.test.js
+++ b/test/sql.test.js
@@ -270,6 +270,16 @@ describe('sql connector', function() {
     expect(orderBy).to.eql('ORDER BY `NAME` ASC,`VIP` DESC');
   });
 
+  it('builds order by with empty array', function() {
+    const orderBy = connector.buildOrderBy('customer', []);
+    expect(orderBy).to.eql('');
+  });
+
+  it('builds order by with empty string', function() {
+    const orderBy = connector.buildOrderBy('customer', '');
+    expect(orderBy).to.eql('');
+  });
+
   it('builds fields for columns', function() {
     const fields = connector.buildFields('customer',
       {name: 'John', vip: true, unknown: 'Random'});