For she is a reflection of eternal light: Compare Heb 1.3, where God’s Son is described as the reflection of God’s glory. This verse continues to describe Wisdom, so the connector For may be omitted. The Greek noun for reflection may refer to light that is reflected or light that originates from a source. The second of these makes sense in view of Wisdom as an “emanation” in verse 25, but reflection makes sense in view of the comparison of Wisdom to a mirror in the next line. New English Bible says “She is the brightness that streams from everlasting light,” but most translations work with the idea of reflection, which we prefer. If we look at this literally, there is a conflict between the imagery of light originating from a source (verse 25) and light being reflected, but the writer’s object is not to be consistent, but to heap praises on Wisdom by whatever imagery is available. The eternal light is God. Compare Isa 60.1, 19-20; Hab 3.4; Bar 5.9; 1 John 1.5. The next line will probably make it clear enough that God is meant, but we could easily say “She reflects God’s everlasting light,” or we may use the word mirror from the following line: “She is like a mirror reflecting God’s everlasting light.”
A spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness: Good News Translation has combined these two lines, representing spotless mirror and image by the phrase “perfect mirror.” While this makes good sense, mirror and image are not quite the same. The image is what we see when we look in the mirror. Translators could say “a spotless [or, clean/clear] mirror in which we see God’s activity, a picture of his goodness.”
An alternative model for this verse is:
• She is like a mirror reflecting God’s everlasting light, a spotless [or, perfectly clean] mirror in which we see God’s activity; she is a picture of his goodness.
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.