long period of time

In Gbaya, the notion of a long period of time (“forever,” “from generation to generation,” etc.) or its negation (“no longer”) in the associated verses is emphasized with the ideophone sɔ̧i̧i̧ that expresses the idea of going far, without stopping; an endless action or a long period of time.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

Translation commentary on Wisdom 14:13

For neither have they existed from the beginning nor will they exist for ever: The connector for may be omitted. They refers back to idols in the previous verse, as Good News Translation makes clear. This verse means that people did not always worship idols, and the time will again come when they do not. The Greek philosophers speculated on the origin of forms of worship that a Jew would call “idolatry.” Our author is reflecting some widespread views of his time in this section. Translators should take care here that the translation does not say that some particular idol came into being at a particular time and will not always exist. A possible model is:

• People have not always worshiped idols, and the time will come again when they do not [worship 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.