They perished in trembling fear, refusing to look even at the air, though it nowhere could be avoided: Refusing to look even at the air means refusing to open the eyes and look at anything. The people are so terrified they try not to look at anything, even in the dark, and yet cannot help but open their eyes. Good News Translation is good here, although we would suggest saying “people died” rather than “they died,” since in verses 14-21 the fate of others is described. Compare especially the wording of verse 16 in Good News Translation. In some languages it will be necessary to divide this long sentence into at least two separate sentences: “And so people died, shaking with fear. They were afraid to open their eyes, yet unable to keep them shut” or “And so people shook with fear and died. They….”

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.