That the land most precious of all to thee: This is of course the land that would later become Israel, the Holy Land. Good News Translation spells it out well: “so that the land which you consider the most precious of all lands.”

Might receive a worthy colony of the servants of God: The noun translated colony normally refers to a settlement made by people away from their home country. Here it refers to the Israelites’ first permanent home in Canaan. As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, the word translated servants could as easily be translated “children,” which some translations prefer (for example, New American Bible, New English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible); we prefer it, but it is the translator’s choice. The line could be rendered “might be a suitable place for your children [or, servants] to settle in [or, make their home].”

Here is an alternative model for verses 3-7:

• And what about the people who lived in your [holy] land long ago [or, before your people settled there]? You hated them because of the terrible things they did. They practiced magic and did disgusting things while worshiping their gods. They murdered children without mercy, and ate human flesh. They practiced a religion, in which parents murdered their own defenseless children. That’s why you decided to let our ancestors destroy them, so that the land which you considered the most precious of all lands might be a suitable place for your children [or, servants] to settle in [or, to make their home].

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.