But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are the men: Good News Translation “the most miserable people of all” is not correct; it is contradicted in 15.14, where we really do find the most miserable people of all. We need to ask why idol worshipers are miserable or “wretched” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “really degraded” (New English Bible). It must be because they are suffering under illusions, not necessarily suffering physically. Dead is rendered “lifeless” in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version, since dead could imply that something once lived, which is not the case here. This line may be rendered “But there are people [whom] we must really pity; they are the ones who put their hopes on lifeless objects.”

Who give the name “gods” to the works of men’s hands: The Good News Translation verb “worship” implies that people give the name “gods” to what they have made. Another approach, following the suggested model above, might be: “These are the people who take things made by human hands and call them gods.”

Gold and silver fashioned with skill, and likenesses of animals: Good News Translation joins these two lines to come up with “images of animals artistically made from gold and silver,” but the two lines are really separate.

Or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand: Whether old or newly-made, idols are equally useless.

Here is an alternative model for the verse:

• But there are people who are truly pathetic [or, should be truly pitied]; they are the ones who put their hopes on lifeless objects. These are the people who take things made by human hands and call them gods. They worship things that people have artistically crafted [or, made] from gold and silver, images of animals, or even a useless stone that was carved by someone long ago.

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.

For whether they kill children in their initiations, or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs: The connector For may be omitted. Compare 12.5-6. Grammatically this verse is connected to the next, but the exact connection is less important than the effect produced by the cataloging of evils, and trying to preserve the subtle connection makes for a long sentence. Good News Translation chooses to make this verse an independent sentence, and this we recommend. We could suggest combining the three items into two:

• When they have initiation ceremonies [or, rituals] they kill children; they meet in secret to conduct ceremonies where they act like wild people, and use [or, conduct] outlandish [or, weird] rituals.

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.

For when the terrible rage of wild beasts came upon thy people and they were being destroyed by the bites of writhing serpents: Since this verse begins a new section, the connector For may be omitted. The wild beasts are the serpents the two lines are similar in meaning, and can be combined. Good News Translation renders rage … came upon thy people with “attacked your people.” It translates destroyed by the bites as “killing them with their poison,” because in English we speak of large animals like lions and bears killing with their bites, but snakes and such creatures killing with their venom or poison. This is an idiomatic matter, and translators should of course say what is natural in their own language. Rather than speak of the terrible rage of wild beasts, Good News Translation shifts to the easier “terrible, fierce snakes.” Good News Translation, however, does leave out writhing. To “writhe” is to make the twisting, turning, coiling motion that a group of snakes caught in a sack might make. Good News Translation probably omits it because it could not find a good word at an appropriate level. But translators in languages other than English may not have such a problem. At any rate, the purpose of the word is not to describe the movement of the snakes, but to convey horror, and any word that does this would be appropriate here. An alternative model for these two lines is “When horrible bunches of fierce, repulsive [or, slithering/writhing] snakes were attacking your people and killing them with their poison.”

Thy wrath did not continue to the end: This means that God did not keep punishing the people with these snakes until the people were all dead. A possible rendering for this line is “you were not angry enough to destroy your people completely.”

It is possible to restructure the verse as follows:

• When you were angry with your people and sent horrible bunches of writhing snakes to attack and kill them with their poison, you stopped being angry before you completely destroyed your people.

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.

For those who promised to drive off the fears and disorders of a sick soul were sick themselves with ridiculous fear: This is a reference to Egyptian healers who dealt with mental disorders. The connector For may be omitted. A sick soul may also be expressed as “mentally ill [or, insane] people” or “people with mental disorders.” Good News Translation is clear, accurate, and orderly for the whole verse.

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.

For a blameless man was quick to act as their champion: The blameless man is Aaron; see Num 16.47-48. Joining this verse to the previous verse would give us “But this disaster did not last long, 21because a blameless man quickly took action to defend them [or, quickly did something that would save them].”

He brought forward the shield of his ministry, prayer and propitiation by incense: The word translated shield describes a weapon, either offensive or defensive. Here it is defensive, so shield is well chosen. The meaning of this figure of speech is that prayer and the offering of incense are Aaron’s defensive weapons; they are like a shield that protects the people. His ministry refers to his function as priest. Propitiation by incense refers to the use of incense in rituals of atonement; compare Lev 16.12-13. Incense is an aromatic substance that was used in sacrifices. In cultures where incense and similar spices are unknown, translators may use a general term; for example, “sweet smelling things” or even “grasses that smell good when burned.” Possible alternative models for these two lines are “He protected them as their priest, by praying and burning the incense used in asking for forgiveness of sins,” “Acting as their priest, he protected them by praying…,” and even “Acting as their priest, he prayed and used incense like a shield to protect your people from punishment for [or, from the angel punishing them] for their sins.”

He withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster, showing that he was thy servant may be rendered “He stood up against the threat [or, epidemic] and ended the disaster. This [act] showed that he was your servant.”

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.

For the sort of thinking expressed in this verse and the following ones, see also Pro 1.10-14.

Let us oppress the righteous poor man: Good News Translation uses the plural here (“the poor”) since it sounds more natural in English. The ones to be persecuted are described as righteous and poor. As used in verses 10-20, the term righteous is sarcastic in tone, since the speakers have no concept of what righteousness really is, so it may be translated “so-called righteous.” Good News Translation puts this line into two clauses because it sounds less formal than Let us oppress the righteous poor man, and formal language is not appropriate here. The tone required is that of criminals conspiring. It should not sound like a governmental declaration. In English, the verb oppress itself sounds too formal for this context. New English Bible has a good approach: “Down with the poor and honest man!” Other possibilities are “Let’s abuse the so-called pure and the honest” and “… pure and honest people.”

Let us not spare the widow nor regard the gray hairs of the aged: Gray hairs of the aged is used symbolically for “old people” (Good News Translation).

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Let’s take advantage of all those so-called righteous people—poor people, too, and widows, and old people.

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.

When it is present, men imitate it, and they long for it when it is gone: Good News Translation is good, but some translators will find “virtue” difficult as a subject. For them another approach might help: “People imitate virtue [or, goodness] when they observe it, and when they cannot find it, they miss it [or, yearn for it].”

As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, some manuscripts read “men honor it” instead of men imitate it. Most authorities prefer the text translated by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, which we recommend that translators follow with no footnote.

And throughout all time it marches crowned in triumph, victor in the contest for prizes that are undefiled: The imagery used here is that of the Greek athletic games. After the contest, the winner, wearing a wreath on his head, was honored in a parade. Most translations interpret the lines much as Revised Standard Version (so also Good News Translation, where there is a wordy attempt to avoid any reference to the games). However, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has a very different approach, based on a different understanding of two ambiguities in the Greek. It reads as follows: “in the eternal world, it triumphs, wearing a crown, having come through an encounter with struggles, victorious and undefiled.”

In this interpretation, throughout all time is translated “in the eternal world,” which is certainly possible. Also, prizes is translated “struggles,” which is also possible. “Struggles … undefiled” then means “the struggles of the virtuous life, unstained by selfishness or sin” (C.L.W. Grimm, quoted in Winston). We find this convincing, but also rather high-level and therefore difficult to translate. We suggest the following model:

• Throughout eternity [or, Through all time to come], God will reward virtuous [or, good] people just like a great athlete is rewarded after he has contested hard and won the prize, without losing his honor [or, face].

For those who are not convinced about the reference to the eternal world, the first phrase “Throughout eternity” may be deleted, and translators can begin with “Virtue [or, Goodness] will always be rewarded” or “God will always reward virtuous people.”

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 14-23 are the author’s reflection on the speech of the ungodly, paralleling 2.21-24.

Because the hope of the ungodly man is like chaff carried by the wind: The connector Because does not fit in this context. Contrast this verse with 2.22. The point of the verse is that the ungodly have no hope at all. This is illustrated by four comparisons, showing that the hope of the ungodly has no substance. Contemporary English Version conveys this better than the question form in Good News Translation with “Sinners have no more hope than….” Here their hope is compared to something carried off by the wind. The word translated chaff (the light husks on grain that have to be separated from the kernels) is better rendered “thistledown” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) or “down” (New English Bible). This refers to the seeds of certain plants, such as the thistle or the dandelion, that are easily blown away by the wind or even light breezes. The Greek word can apply to any downy substance of such light weight that the slightest breeze can blow it away. Good News Translation “straw” is not really adequate, since straw is heavier and has more substance. An alternative model is “Sinners have no more hope than seeds carried by the wind.”

The Revised Standard Version footnote on chaff notes that some manuscripts have “dust” here. This is a textual matter, but from a purely translational point of view, “dust” could be substituted for “seeds” in the model above without damaging the sense. For translators in some regions it may prove easier.

And like a light hoarfrost driven away by a storm: Hoarfrost is frozen dew, but the connection with a storm is puzzling. Other manuscripts have “spider’s web” and others read “foam.” (The three Greek words involved resemble each other.) “Foam” makes the best sense here. It provides a description of the surface of a lake or the sea whipped up by strong winds, with foam from the waves blowing through the air. The Handbook suggests that translators follow Good News Translation and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible in reading “foam” (New Jerusalem Bible “fine spray”). Good News Translation provides a simple model for a textual footnote.

It is dispersed like smoke before the wind: This third comparison is clear enough. The translator’s problem in the first three lines is to sustain the comparison to the lack of hope for the ungodly. Good News Translation is effective in English. Another approach would be “Ungodly people have no stronger hope than that of seeds carried by the breeze, or ocean foam in a storm, or smoke in the wind.”

And it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day: Guest is probably a poor translation. It certainly makes a feeble comparison; sometimes it’s not hard at all to remember guests who stay only a day. The Greek word refers to “one who stays somewhere,” with “somewhere” not necessarily being anyone’s home. It is modified by an adjective meaning “one day.” What we have is a “one-day stayer,” a vagabond, someone who is constantly on the move and never stays more than one night in the same place. New American Bible is on the right track: “and like the passing memory of the nomad camping for a single day.” Translators might say “Their hope passes quickly by like a wanderer who never spends two nights in the same place,” or simply “Their hope lasts no longer than people remember some wanderer who passes by.”

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.