To these the destroyer yielded, these he feared: Good News Translation is a simple, clear model; but translators may also say “When the Angel of Death saw these things, he was afraid and gave up [or, retreated].” The Revised Standard Version footnote calls attention to a different pronoun found in most manuscripts, but the reading in its text is preferred.

Because the next line in this verse is unclear until it is associated with the line that follows it, we strongly suggest ending the section with the first line of verse 25, and beginning the next section with the last line of the verse.

For merely to test the wrath was enough: Since this line begins a new section, the connector for may be omitted. The meaning of test is not certain, and it is not certain whether the wrath refers to God’s or the destroyer’s (see the notes on verses 20 and 22). However, when we compare 19.1 to 16.5, the author’s probable intention here becomes clearer. We suggest saying the following here: “For your people, this one experience with disaster was enough.”

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.