We can hardly guess at what is on earth: Good News Translation expresses this well with “All we can do is make guesses about things on earth.”

And what is at hand we find with labor: Good News Translation again is good. Another approach is “It is difficult to understand things we see every day.”

But who has traced out what is in the heavens?: This is a rhetorical question, and the answer is of course, “No one.” Traced out means “explored.” The question for interpretation is whether the expression what is in the heavens refers to astronomy or to spiritual matters. In this context we believe that spiritual matters is the better choice; compare Good News Translation “heavenly things.” Translators could express the question as “How can we possibly understand matters that have to do with heaven [or, God]?” Or it may be expressed as a statement: “No one has ever come close to understanding matters that have to do with heaven [or, God].”

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.