I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom leads them may be rendered “I was able to enjoy all these things because Wisdom had brought them to me.”

But I did not know that she was their mother: Here Solomon is saying that when he began his search for Wisdom, he had no idea that she would bring him such wealth. He was not trying to get rich; he simply wanted to be wise (see 1Kgs 3.10-14). He “learned without guile,” as the next verse says. Wealth was an unexpected bonus. Good News Translation builds this in by saying “I had not realized before that she was the source of all these things”; but we may also say “I had not realized before that she was the one who gave all those things.”

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.