For perverse thoughts separate men from God: The connector For is not needed to begin this verse (see Good News Translation). The Greek word translated perverse basically means “twisted” or “crooked.” This line is probably a reverse parallel to the preceding line. If one trusts God, God manifests himself. If one’s thinking is wrong, the opposite happens: you get separated from God. The thoughts here are “twisted” in that they are incorrect, false, wrong-headed. The reference is to judges who try to pass judgment by testing God. Perhaps we may translate as follows: “But anyone who doesn’t think straight is only separating himself from God” or “But anyone who thinks in a crooked [or, twisted] way is only….”

And when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish: This line refers back to the first line of verse 2. New Revised Standard Version is better than Revised Standard Version: “and when his power is tested, it exposes the foolish.” The idea is that if you, as judge, propose to give God a test, it will only demonstrate how foolish you are being. So we may translate “If you try to test God’s power, that power is only going to put you to shame [or, make you lose face].”

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.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death: The question here is whether condemn is to be taken literally of a judicial sentence to death, or more broadly, of seeing to it that the righteous are so afflicted that they die in disgrace. We should probably favor the former, on the grounds that the writer is putting words in the mouths of people who are in positions of power, and can use their position or their influence to cause the death of poor people. A shameful death would point in this direction also. Although a good person might die painfully, normally he would die with dignity and be surrounded by family and friends. A criminal sentenced to death would be deprived of this comfort, knowing the community looked on his death as a sign of disgrace and shame. Good News Translation keeps the word “condemn,” whereas Contemporary English Version has “We will sentence them to….” The meaning is the same.

For, according to what he says, he will be protected: For is rendered “After all” in Good News Translation. This is a possible alternative. He will be protected is literally “there will be a visitation [or, divine intervention] for him.” While the sense of the preposition translated according to is not really clear here, the meaning for this line is almost surely “they say that God will protect them” if they are in danger. Perhaps the idea of God’s “visitation” (see Gen 50.24-25) can be expressed here more vividly, and with appropriate irony: “Let’s condemn them to die in shame, like criminals. After all, they seem to think that God will come and save them.”

This is the end of the long quotation beginning in verse 1.

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.

He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile deceive his soul may be rendered “God takes them away to protect their minds and souls from the influence of evil and falsehood.”

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.

A mighty wind will rise against them, and like a tempest it will winnow them away: Good News Translation combines mighty wind and tempest into one phrase, “Great windstorms.” Winnow refers to the action of grain farmers when they toss grain into the air so that the husks (chaff) will blow away. Good News Translation does not use the term, but conveys the meaning and something of the imagery with “will blow them away like straw.”

Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth: Lawlessness is pictured as turning the earth into a desert, or at least a place without people. It would not be going too far to say “Lawlessness will bring ruin upon the whole earth,” “Lawlessness will turn the whole earth into a desert,” or even “People breaking the Law will turn….”

And evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers may be expressed as “and wrongdoing will cause kingdoms [or, governments] to fall.” This last line, dealing with the downfall of kings, ends the author’s discussion of the destinies of the righteous and the ungodly, and prepares the reader for the address to the kings of the world with which the first main division of the book will close (6.1; compare 1.1).

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.

This verse reflects the ideas in 6.12-21, where a person seeks Wisdom, but at the same time Wisdom seeks the person. Here Solomon prays for Wisdom, but Wisdom finds him.

Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: The introductory clause in Good News Translation, “Realizing that I was only human,” corresponds to the word Therefore. It is a helpful addition, particularly at the beginning of a new section. The idea is that Solomon prays for Wisdom because he recognizes his human weaknesses.

I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me: The phrase upon God does not appear in Greek, but is clearly implied from I prayed in the first line. Good News Translation has combined I prayed and I called upon God, although it does not include the word God. The spirit of wisdom here is equivalent to wisdom itself, as in 1.6. If “The spirit of Wisdom came to me” (Good News Translation) is difficult, translators may simply say “Wisdom came to me” or “he [God] gave me Wisdom.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Realizing that I was human, I prayed to [or, asked] God to give me Wisdom, and he answered my prayer.

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.

Verses 10-16 present a problem. The narrator of the book is the mature Solomon, yet he speaks here of past events and present conditions as still future. He is taking us back to his youth, when these things were still ahead of him. He is telling us what he, as a young man, thought the rewards of wisdom would be. Good News Translation does well to introduce these verses with a helpful “I thought to myself” and then to place the rest of the material through verse 16 in quotation marks. New English Bible and Revised English Bible use no quotation marks, but do insert “I thought.” The Handbook urges translators to mark this material in a similar way. Otherwise the future tense will confuse many readers.

Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes may be rendered “If I have Wisdom, I will be admired by all the people” or “… all the people [or, everyone] will honor [or, respect] me.” Multitudes refers to the people governed by King Solomon.

And honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young: Elders can often mean “leaders,” but here the contrast with young makes it advisable to use the literal meaning, “old people.” Good News Translation is a good model for translators: “The old men will respect me, even though I am young.”

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.

But when an unrighteous man departed from her in his anger: Presumably Cain had Wisdom, but became so angry that he left her and went out to kill his brother. It is hard to suggest an English verb that is appropriate here; neither departed from nor “abandoned” (Good News Translation) sounds natural. “Rejected” is close. The idea of “turn one’s back on” probably fits this context more naturally; for example, “But there was an evil [or, unrighteous] man who turned his back on [or, refused to follow] Wisdom.” Good News Translation has moved in his anger to the end of the verse by combining it with in rage and translating “in a fit of anger,” which means “he became so angry that.” This works well.

He perished because in rage he slew his brother: Good News Translation (so also New English Bible) renders perished as “destroyed himself,” which is better in the context. This must not be mistaken for suicide, however. It means that by killing his brother Cain brought about his own ruin. He did not, of course, die immediately. His punishment is reported in Gen 4.9-16.

An alternative model for this verse is:

• There was an evil man who turned his back on Wisdom. He became terribly angry and killed his brother. Because of this he brought about his own ruin [or, destruction].

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.

In verses 17-20 the author argues that even though God could have punished the Egyptians for the silly worship of reptiles and beetles by overwhelming them with huge, savage animals, he chose the punishment to fit the sin.

For thy all-powerful hand, which created the world out of formless matter: Good News Translation translates these lines as a separate sentence, which many translators will find a more natural style. The connector For introduces these lines as the reason for the last line. This relationship can be indicated by beginning the last line with “So” (see our model below). Hand is here a symbol of God’s activity in creation. For thy all-powerful hand, Good News Translation has “Your almighty power,” which is a good model; but if a language can use hand as a metaphor for “power,” the translator should use that word picture. The insertion of “Lord” by Good News Translation is helpful; it signals that the argument is about to take a new direction. Formless matter recalls Gen 1.2. An alternative model for this line is “Lord, you used your power to make the world out of material that had no form.”

Did not lack the means to send upon them a multitude of bears, or bold lions: Multitude translates the same word as in verse 15, where Good News Translation translated “millions.” That was appropriate there, but here “an invasion of bears” (Good News Translation) is more appropriate for a multitude of bears. Winston translates “an army of bears.” Translators could also say “thousands of bears.” The bears referred to are the large, brown, dish-faced, humpbacked bears that once lived throughout Europe and northern Asia. In North America they are called grizzly bears. The lions are described as bold or “fearless,” but “savage” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “fierce” (New American Bible) are other possible renderings.

An alternative model for the verse is:

• Lord, you used your power to create the world out of material that had no form. So with this same power you could have sent thousands of bears or savage lions.

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.