Verses 26 and 27 are closely linked in meaning. Verse 26 has two parallel lines and verse 27 three.
“I also will laugh at your calamity”: “I also” serves to indicate that Wisdom also has her turn to scorn them as they have done to her. New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “I in turn shall laugh. . ..” Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version express “also” as a consequence “So when you get into trouble, I will laugh. . ..” “Calamity” refers to suffering, trouble, or disaster. “Calamity” must often be expressed as a verb phrase, for example, “when you suffer” or “when something awful happens to you.”
“I will mock when panic strikes you”: “Mock” means to “deride,” “ridicule,” or “make fun of.” In some languages “mock” is expressed as a figurative expression, for example, “smack the lips at” or “clap the hands at.” “Panic” renders a word used in Lam 3.47 and refers to terror or fright. “Strikes you” is literally “comes [to you].”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .