With what strictness thou hast judged thy sons: Thy sons is the same as “thy servants” in verse 20, that is, the Israelites. Although other translations agree with Good News Translation, we believe it has misunderstood the verse. The point is not that God punished his own people more severely than others, but that he applied the same careful discrimination in measuring out their punishment (see the model below).

To whose fathers thou gavest oaths and covenants full of good promises!: This refers to God’s binding himself to the Israelites in the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and in the covenant he made with Moses.

A possible model for this verse is:

• You had made agreements with the ancestors of your children [or, your people], and promised them good things. So when you punished them, you were also careful not to punish them too much.

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.