He is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead: Again Good News Translation is good, except that “is dead from the start” may also be rendered as “never has life in it at all.” An alternative for this line is “Every person is mortal, but whatever he makes with his wicked hands never lives at all.”

For he is better than the objects he worships, since he has life, but they never have may be rendered “He is [actually] better than the things he worships. He at least lives for a while, but they never live at all.” As the Revised Standard Version footnote points out, there is a textual problem at the beginning of the third line. There is little manuscript evidence for since almost all have “of which” (that is, of the two—the man and the idols). The difference in meaning is slight, and the model suggested above avoids the need for any footnote.

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.