Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law: We may adjust Good News Translation to read “As time went on, this ungodly custom became stronger, until it was observed as a law” or “As time went on, this ungodly ceremony became a custom until eventually it became law [or, they observed it as law].”

There is a problem at this point. Good News Translation and some others take the second line to be an extension of the first, while others (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Winston) take the second line as an introduction to the next example. The next example speaks of idolatry arising from the honor given rulers, but speaks of it as voluntary, while verse 16b speaks of commanded idol worship. This would support Good News Translation. On the other hand, this creates an awkward grammatical beginning for the sentence opening verse 17. Further, it is not likely that the author is saying that a private cult (verse 15) became enforced state worship. We prefer to go with Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and others, and suggest a paragraph break at this point.

And at the command of monarchs graven images were worshiped: For monarchs see 6.9. The images here are definitely carved (graven). New Jerusalem Bible calls them “statues,” and there is no reason not to use such a term. A good model for the line, based on New Jerusalem Bible, is “It was rulers who ordered that statues should be worshiped.” Another approach is “People began to worship statues when powerful rulers commanded them to do so.”

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.