For though in the sight of men they were punished: People might think that the righteous are dead and gone forever, that their death was punishment or even persecution, at any rate a terrible misfortune, but they are wrong. There is more to it than such people can see. An alternative for this line is “People may have thought that the righteous were being punished,” or even “… that God was punishing these good people.”

Their hope is full of immortality: Compare 2.22. When considered literally, this is a strange idiom, but its meaning is clear enough, and Good News Translation states it well: “but they have the confident hope of immortality.” We may also say “but they [the righteous] are absolutely sure that they will live forever.”

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.