For a man made them, and one whose spirit is borrowed formed them: The connector For may be omitted. Whose spirit is borrowed has the same meaning as “the soul that was lent him” in verse 8. A possible alternative model for this line is “Some [human] person made those idols. He was a person whose life is only borrowed [or, who lives only a short while].”

For no man can form a god which is like himself: Good News Translation gives a good rendering with “No one can ever make a god that is equal to a human being,” as does Contemporary English Version with “and none of us can make a god that is our equal.” The idea is that no idol can ever be as impressive as the human who made it. What kind of god is that?

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.