Instead of the fountain of an ever-flowing river, stirred up and defiled with blood: Good News Translation takes fountain to refer to the sources of the Nile River, but it probably refers to the Nile as the water supply for the Egyptians. Stirred up depicts the bloody scene as somehow active and moving, seething with horror. Defiled translates an adjective that means “gory,” which amplifies the horror of the noun blood, so Good News Translation has “foul with blood.”

In rebuke for the decree to slay the infants may be rendered “for ordering the babies of your people to be killed” or even “for ordering their servants to kill the babies of your people.” This refers to Pharaoh’s command that the Israelite midwives should kill baby boys born to Israelite women. See Exo 1.16.

Thou gavest them abundant water unexpectedly: Compare Num 20.11.

Showing by their thirst at that time how thou didst punish their enemies: When the Israelites suffered from thirst in the wilderness, it served as a reminder of how thirsty God had made the Egyptians by depriving them of their source of water.

Good News Translation reorders the lines of these verses in such a way that the combination of verses numbers becomes necessary. The example of Good News Translation is a good one, but we recommend a slightly different approach. These verses could be translated as follows:

• Your enemies commanded that babies born to your people should be killed. So you made that ever-flowing river of theirs, where they got their water, become murky and horrible [or, gory] with blood. Then, when your people were in the desert, you made them thirsty. This showed them how you had punished their enemies. But then, when they did not expect it, you gave them plenty of water.

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.