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enemy / foe
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).
Translation commentary on Wisdom 10:12
She protected him from his enemies, and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him: Good News Translation is a good model for these lines. Another approach, suggested by New Jerusalem Bible, would be “She protected him from his enemies, and kept him safe from the traps they set for him.” The enemies could be Laban or Esau, or perhaps the men of Shechem (see Gen 34.30).
In his arduous contest she gave him the victory: His arduous contest is a reference to Jacob’s fight with the mysterious stranger in Gen 32.24-32. An alternative model is “When he wrestled hard with a heavenly being, he was victorious.”
So that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything: The “man” or angel (see Hos 12.4-5) who wrestled with Jacob represented God. From this the author argues that piety, devotion to God, is the strongest of all things (since it can overcome God). Good News Translation renders godliness as “serving God.” This is not bad, but “reverence for God” or “devotion to God” is closer. Translators could render this line as follows: “so that he might realize [or, learn] that no one has more power than a person who is devoted to [or, obeys] God.”
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.