He who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty: Good News Translation avoids a gender problem in English by translating this verse in the second person. Another way to do this is “If you get up early and look for Wisdom, you will….” The verb translated “have no problem” by Good News Translation could also be translated “not have to try very hard.” This is actually a bit closer to the meaning of the Greek.

Translators should bear in mind that whatever is rendered in the second person in this passage should be second person plural, since in the context Solomon is addressing the world’s rulers. It would not be wrong to reintroduce the “rulers”: “If you rulers get up early….”

For he will find her sitting at his gates: In Pro 8.3 Wisdom sits beside the city gates. Here the gates are the doors to a house. The author is probably thinking of a dwelling in a town where the rooms open to an inner courtyard, and the gates or doors of the courtyard open to the street. The verse could be rendered as follows:

• If you begin the day by looking for her [or, Wisdom], you will not have to look very far. You will find her sitting [or, waiting] right outside your house.

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.