For who will say, “What hast thou done?”: At the beginning of a new section, the connector For may be omitted. What hast thou done is a rhetorical question that makes an accusation. We could translate this line literally with “Who is going to say, ‘What have you done?’ ” Or we may rephrase and say “No one can ever say, ‘What have you done?’ ” Or, if the question form seems too difficult, Good News Translation provides a model without it: “No one can question what you have done.”

Or who will resist thy judgment?: The sense of this rhetorical question is very similar to that of the first line. As a statement it may be rendered “There is no one who can challenge your judgment” or even “No one can say you are wrong.”

Who will accuse thee for the destruction of nations which thou didst make?: The introductory words in Good News Translation, “You created those wicked people,” are brought forward from this third line of the verse. It is a good idea, since a new section begins here, and the reader may not follow the logic that connects verses 11 and 12. However, we believe the writer at this point refers to any nation, not just to the Canaanites. So it is better bring the entire third line forward, and say “You created all nations, and if you destroy one [or, them], no one can accuse you of doing something wrong.” Notice that this rendering rewords the rhetorical question as a statement.

Or who will come before thee to plead as an advocate for unrighteous men?: This rhetorical question is parallel to the previous one, and may be rendered as a statement also; for example, “No one can [dare to] come to you and speak in defense of people who are unrighteous [or, defend these wicked people].”

An alternative model for this whole verse is:

• You created all nations, and if you destroy one [or, them], no one can accuse you of doing something wrong [or, committing a crime]. No one can ever say “What have you done?” No one can say “You are wrong.” No one can [dare to] come before you and defend [or, speak in defense of] these guilty [or, wicked] people.

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.