“The Lord by wisdom founded the earth”: “The Lord” continues the use of Israel’s name for God, which first occurred in 1.7. “Wisdom” is used here as a characteristic of the Creator, not as something outside of him; note that Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have “his wisdom.” For passages that display God’s wisdom in creation see Job 9.10; 38 and 39; Psa 104.24; 136.5; Isa 40.12-14; and Jer 10.12.

“Founded” reflects the idea of laying a foundation, which in turn depicts something of the ancient view of the earth. Most modern translations use a word equivalent to “created.” Some languages do not express the relationship between the Lord and wisdom using a term like “by” as in Revised Standard Version. In some cases it is possible to say, for example, “The Lord used wisdom to create the earth” or “Because the Lord is wise he created the earth.”

“By understanding he established the heavens”: See verse 13 for “understanding”. “Established” matches “founded”, and “heavens” refers to the sky. The wording of this line may follow that of the first. However, some may find it more natural to follow a structure such as Contemporary English Version “By his wisdom and knowledge the Lord created heaven and earth,” or “. . . sky and ground.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .