When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children, he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing: It is not clear here that the woodworker is married and has any children. The author seems to be talking about a lonely laborer who is too poor to have possessions, and the sadness of the picture is intensified if he doesn’t have a family either. He is not praying for his family’s welfare, but praying to have one. We suspect the author is saying “When he prays that he might be prosperous and have a wife and children, he is not ashamed to pray to this lifeless object.”

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.