Translation commentary on Wisdom 14:25

And all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury is literally “Blood and murder, theft and deceit … have control of everything, chaotically.” The point here is to convey effectively the author’s horror at these things. New English Bible is good: “All is in chaos—bloody murder, theft and fraud, corruption, treachery, riot, perjury.” Blood and murder are two ways of saying the same thing, but saying it twice for effect. “Bloody murder” is a convenient set phrase in English. Perjury refers to being untruthful when under oath, but Good News Translation “falsehood” does not miss the point far. The catalog of sins could be expressed with clauses for the whole verse:

• All is in chaos. No one is safe from vicious murder [or, having someone viciously/cruelly murder him], no one is safe from being swindled or robbed; people are corrupt, they betray friends, they have no regard for law and order, they pay no attention to the oaths they take.

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.