The gold which they wear is literally “the gold which they have around themselves.” The Greek verb used here is not a technical term in metal working; in 4 Macc 12.2 a boy about to be martyred is described with this same word, and he has chains around him. “Have been plated” in Good News Translation (similarly New English Bible) derives more from archeological knowledge than the precise meaning of the Greek word. Moore has the idols “trimmed with gold,” which is quite appropriate in the context. New American Bible speaks of “the gold that covers them,” but they may not have been completely covered, though it doesn’t matter.

The gold is really the subject of the sentence here, although the literal structure is quite awkward. Good News Translation restructures the sentence, but makes “These idols” the subject. If the translator wants to preserve the emphasis of the original, we would recommend something like “Gold—the idols have been overlaid [or, covered over] with it…” or “The gold that people put on the idols….”

They will not shine: The Greek verb here is emphatically negated. Some versions express this emphasis in English by beginning this clause with the word “but” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). Good News Translation could also be reworded to reflect the emphasis by saying “They simply will not shine.”

Unless someone wipes off the rust: Good News Translation says “unless someone polishes them.” This conveys the essential meaning while sidestepping the problem of what rust can mean when applied to gold.

For even when they were being cast: Other possible renderings are “When they were being poured into molds” (Good News Translation), “when they were being made out of melted gold poured into molds” (Contemporary English Version), and even “When people made them out of gold that they melted and poured into molds.” A “mold” is a hollow object (form) made out of clay or some other material that won’t be destroyed when the hot molten metal is poured into it. The form has the shape of the object the metalworker wants to make, in this case an idol.

They had no feeling: This renders the same Greek verb used in verse 20, where it is translated “They do not notice.” The idols sense nothing, they are unaware of anything happening.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• The gold that people put on the idols is supposed to make them beautiful, but they do not shine unless someone polishes them. They felt nothing when they were being made out of melted gold poured into molds.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.