That night was made known beforehand to our fathers: The problem for the reader here is that just after the mention of the drowning of the Egyptian army we are back to speaking of the night of the death of the firstborn. One solution would be to render this line as follows: “But [or, However] you told [or, warned] our ancestors in advance what would happen on the night their enemies’ children died.”

So that they might rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted: Good News Translation provides a fine model, although translators need not use “to them” at the end of the verse if the meaning would otherwise be clear. Models using the active voice are “so that they could celebrate [or, feel happy/cheerful], being confident that you would keep your promises to them” and “… being confident that you would do what you had promised.”

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.