Verses 11-13 are a reflection on groundless, irrational fear. Good News Translation does well to make a separate paragraph of this material. Translators could even consider putting the whole paragraph in parentheses.

For wickedness is a cowardly thing, condemned by its own testimony: Since this is a new paragraph, the connector For may be omitted. Footnotes in both Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version tell us, correctly, that this line is unclear in Greek; and there are textual problems as well. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible seems to make the best sense of it: “Wickedness testifies to its cowardice when it is condemned by its own witness.” It seems to mean that wickedness is inherently cowardly, and that it is to be condemned is only self-evident. Perhaps translators could say “Wickedness is always cowardly, and condemns itself” or “Wicked people are always cowardly and condemn themselves.” A footnote that the Greek is unclear is in order. Cowardly is expressed in many languages with descriptive idioms; for example, “have a weak/white spine.”

Distressed by conscience, it has always exaggerated the difficulties: As the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, there is a textual problem here. Two verbs (exaggerated or “anticipated”), differing only by the presence or absence of a single letter, are found in the manuscripts, but the meaning of the line comes out pretty much the same. New English Bible is clearly reading “anticipated”: “[wickedness] … in the grip of conscience gives way to forebodings of disaster.” New Jerusalem Bible means substantially the same thing, but we could derive its translation from either manuscript reading: “under pressure from conscience it always assumes the worst.” Good News Translation says too much; the verse does not say that things are not as bad as the wicked imagine them to be. Things may really be that bad. The wicked may be right to assume the worst.

We would suggest translating the verse as follows:

• Wicked people are always cowardly and condemn themselves. Their guilty consciences make them always fear the worst [or, always afraid that terrible things will happen to them].*
*The Greek of this verse is unclear at points.

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.