What has our arrogance profited us? And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?: The answer to these rhetorical questions is of course, “Nothing.” Good News Translation has an effective translation of this verse. Another approach, avoiding the question form, would be to say at the end of the verse: “and now, it has done us no good.”

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.