And no power of fire was able to give light: Good News Translation offers a good translation, but any translator using it as a model should take careful notice that in the phrase, “to give them light,” the pronoun “them” refers to the people, not the ghosts. So we may translate “No fire was bright enough to give those people light.”

Nor did the brilliant flames of the stars avail to illumine that hateful night: New Jerusalem Bible has a good translation with “nor could the brightly blazing stars illuminate that dreadful night.” So does Revised English Bible with “nor were the brilliant, flaming stars adequate to pierce that hideous darkness.” We suggest the following model: “not even the brilliant flames of the stars could bring light into that dismal [or, fearful] darkness.”

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.