9:2

The three lines of this verse are parallel. Each line describes one of the things that Wisdom has done to prepare a feast for her guests.

2a She has prepared her meat

2b and mixed her wine;

2c she has also set her table.

9:2a–c

She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table: In many cultures, a wealthy woman would not do this actual work herself. Instead, she would instruct her servants to do it. In some languages, it may be more natural to make some of this information explicit. For example:

She ⌊caused⌋ animals to be butchered and ⌊caused⌋ her wine to be mixed…

In this extended metaphor, the images of meat and wine represent Wisdom’s teaching or advice. Meat and wine are tasty and nutritious. Similarly, Wisdom’s teaching is good and useful.

If it is not clear to your readers what the feast in this verse symbolizes, you may want to add a footnote that gives a brief explanation. See the suggested footnote in 9:5a–b.

9:2a

She has prepared her meat: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “slaughtered her slaughtering.” It means that Wisdom has butchered ⌊and perhaps also cooked⌋ one or more animals in preparation for a feast. Other ways to translate this clause are:

She has had an animal killed for a feast (Good News Translation)
-or-
She has prepared a great banquet (New Living Translation (2004))

9:2b

and mixed her wine: The wine may have been mixed with spices to give it a pleasant and varied taste. It may also have been mixed with water, as was the custom among the Greeks. If you have to make explicit in your language what the wine was mixed with, it is suggested that you make “spices” explicit. Most people would not consider wine diluted with water to be a tasty drink. For example:

mixed spices in the wine (Good News Translation)

In areas where people are not familiar with mixed wine, it may be better to use a more general statement. For example:

she has prepared delicious wine

wine: wine is an alcoholic drink. It is made from the juice of a fruit called grapes. When grape juice ferments, it becomes wine. For more information on how to translate wine, see the note on 3:10b.

9:2c

she has also set her table: This clause is a figure of speech that refers to the food and drink that Wisdom has placed on the table. The word table may refer here to a low platform around which guests reclined to eat. In the homes of ordinary people, a table was probably a mat or a hide on the floor. However, the nature of the table is not in focus here.

In areas where food is not set out on tables, you may use a more general expression. For example:

Her feast is ready (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
She has set out the food and drink so that it is ready.

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