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.

Therefore, as to thoughtless children: Children again are described as “children who cannot reason” (New Revised Standard Version).

Thou didst send thy judgment to mock them: Send thy judgment is equivalent to “punish.” “Made them look like fools” is the Good News Translation equivalent for to mock them. Compare Exo 10.2 (Revised Standard Version: “I have made sport of the Egyptians”; Good News Translation: “I made fools of the Egyptians”).

The problem for translators in this verse is expressing “children who cannot reason”; this comparison with children clashes with the idea of making the Egyptians look like fools. Good News Translation omits any reference to children without distorting the meaning, but translators could say one of the following:

• And the punishment you sent them made them look like children, [made them] look like fools [or, look ridiculous].

• And so you made them look like children, or even like fools, when you punished them.

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.

Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols: For visitation see the notes on 2.20; 3.7; and 3.13b, where God’s punishment is referred to. Presumably the only way idols can be punished is by destruction; compare Jer 10.15. Heathen refers to non-Jewish nations, but since any idol is by definition not used in Jewish worship, this may be left understood. For this line Good News Translation may be followed, but another possible approach is “And so God will punish those pagan idols” or, even better, “And so God will come and destroy the idols people worship.”

Because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination: Part of what God created refers to the idols being made of a natural material created for good by God. For abomination see the note on 12.23.

And became traps for the souls of men and a snare to the feet of the foolish: These two lines have essentially the same meaning. Good News Translation provides a good model for these lines, but we may also restructure the verse as follows:

• Even though people make idols from something God has created, they become a trap for the souls of foolish people. So God will destroy those horrible [or, disgusting] idols that godless [or, pagan] people worship.

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 he considered our existence an idle game, and life a festival held for profit: Some manuscripts have “they considered” instead of he considered. This is found in the Revised Standard Version footnote, but we recommend following the text of Revised Standard Version with he, and no footnote. Good News Translation may be slightly expanded by using an introductory word to join this line to the previous verse: “Instead, he thinks of human life as a meaningless game or a festival [or, market] where he can make a profit [or, money].”

For he says one must get money however one can, even by base means: The Greek is literally says, but the meaning is conveyed as well by “believes” (Good News Translation). What he says is not that he must make money, but that anyone must. We believe that “earn a living” (Winston) is truer to the Greek and to the context than get money. Base means refers to evil ways of making a living. An alternative model for this line is “He believes that people have to make a living any way they can [or, in every way possible], even dishonestly.” Another approach is to render it as a direct quotation; for example, “He says [or, Here is what he says], ‘You have to make a living any way you can, even if it’s not honest [or, you do it dishonestly].’ ”

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.

Therefore at that time also, changed into all forms, it served thy all-nourishing bounty: The subject is still creation. The author is expressing himself in terms of Greek ideas concerning physical nature, that there was one primeval substance, out of which all the elements of the natural world were formed. The translator cannot be expected to convey all this to the reader, but Good News Translation “Creation assumed all kinds of forms” comes very close to what the author intends, and does so rather simply. It served thy all-nourishing bounty may be rendered “to show how you provide generously” (Good News Translation). The words “show how you” in Good News Translation are unnecessary and better left out, so these lines are better rendered “… all kinds of forms to provide generously….” Contemporary English Version is also helpful with “And so on that occasion, the forces of the universe changed the way they work, in order to serve your purpose.”

According to the desire of those who had need: As the footnotes in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation indicate, there is an ambiguity in the Greek here. Those who had need can also be translated “those who prayed [or, asked].” This is the translator’s choice, but the Handbook prefers the choice of Good News Translation: “all who pray to you.” Good News Translation omits desire as clearly included within the idea of praying, but for this line translators could say “by answering the prayers of all who pray to you.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• And so on that occasion the things you made took on all kinds of forms to provide generously by answering the prayers of all who prayed to you.

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.

We suggest a paragraph break at the end of this verse, rather than at the beginning as in Good News Translation.

For in secret the holy children of good men offered sacrifices: The connector For may be omitted. For this line Good News Translation is good, but may be slightly changed to read “During all this time good people from among your people were secretly offering sacrifices to you.” The reference is to the preparations for the first Passover in Exo 12.21-27.

And with one accord agreed to the divine law, that the saints would share alike the same things, both blessings and dangers: Good News Translation misunderstands the sense of divine law. The reference is not to “God’s law,” that is, the Law of Moses given on Mount Sinai, but to a sacred obligation they laid upon themselves. Compare New Jerusalem Bible “and with one accord this holy law: that the holy ones should share good things and dangers alike.” Saints here means “God’s own people.” Fashioning models after New Jerusalem Bible, we suggest “and with one accord they undertook a sacred obligation that they, as God’s holy people, would share alike in the successes and in the dangers that lay ahead,” “they made a binding promise with one another that they, as God’s own people, would share alike…,” and “and all of them agreed to follow a promise [or, obligation] that they had made with one another [or, had undertaken]; that is, that they as God’s own people….”

And already they were singing the praises of the fathers: Praises of the fathers surely refers to songs of praise sung by the ancestors, not to songs sung in praise of those ancestors, even though grammatically it could be taken either way here. Although nothing is said about songs in Exo 12, in the author’s day it had long been customary to sing Psa 113–118 at the observance of Passover. What he probably means here is that those ancient songs were first sung (the verb translated singing really means “to sing first”) on this occasion, the first Passover back in Egypt. (Compare the Passover observance in 2Chr 35.10-15, with singing implied in verse 15.) Something like this could be said for this line: “They were the first to sing those [or, the] ancient songs of praise to you.” At the risk of saying too much, and if Passover is a familiar enough concept for the audience, translators could even say “They were the first to sing our ancient Passover songs praising you.”

The Revised Standard Version footnote warns us of another textual reading for the last line. Although it is found in some good manuscripts, scholars usually reject it. We do not think a footnote is necessary here.

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 elements changed places with one another: Since a new section begins here, the connector For may be omitted. In ancient thought the elements were fire, water, earth, and air. Air is not mentioned in this passage, but verses 19-20 give a good illustration of the kind of things the writer is thinking of. The ordinary workings of nature were suspended, and unexpected things happened. Good News Translation “the very elements entered into new combinations” is effective as an expression to arouse wonder, although it does not describe exactly what the author has in mind. Some translators may find that Revised Standard Version is a workable model. It would not be going too far, we believe, to specify the elements, and say “Earth, air, water, and fire exchanged functions with each other.” The Revised Standard Version footnote on changed merely provides a literal translation for this verb.

As on a harp the notes vary the nature of the rhythm, while each note remains the same: Technical terms from Greek music are used here. The most helpful explanation is provided in Vílchez, where he quotes a personal letter from the exegete Luís Alonso Schökel, himself a musician. The idea here, we learn, is that in a musical scale (our do, re, mi …) every note has a function that differs depending on which musical “mode” is being used (rather like our “key”). Even though that function varies from mode to mode, do is still do, re is still re, and so on. In a similar way fire remains fire, earth remains earth, and so on, but here there is a great change effected in which they change their functions or properties. They do not destroy the “tune,” the natural harmony, but they change it.

All of this is too technical to convey easily in translation. Most translations are content to use musical imagery in such a way as to convey the author’s point. Good News Translation translates “On a harp each string keeps its own pitch, but each sound can be combined with others to make different melodies.” Revised English Bible has “As the strings of a harp can make various tunes with different names though each string retains its own pitch.” New American Bible uses “[the elements] like strings of the harp, produce new melody, while the flow of music steadily persists.” Contemporary English Version has “Different tunes can be played on the same harp, though the strings remain the same.”

The Revised Standard Version footnote that the meaning of the verse is uncertain here is well taken. But the lack of clarity in the Greek comes from our lack of understanding of the technical terms used. It is not that the author’s point is not clear enough. Consequently we think translators need not use a footnote at this point.

The following is an alternative model for the first three lines of this verse. It follows Good News Translation by reversing the lines.

• On a harp each string always makes the same sound, even though it will sound different [to the ear] as the musician plays different tunes. It was like that in those days, when earth, air, fire, and water exchanged functions with each other.

This may be clearly inferred from the sight of what took place: The Good News Translation short sentence “Look at what happened!” is quite good. It expresses wonder and invites attention to what follows. Translators could also say “This can be clearly seen in things that happened.”

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.