He carved: Once again the active verb here with Solomon as the implied subject may have to be adjusted in translation in other languages; for example, “He caused workers to make carvings” or “He had people decorate the room with carvings.” As in verse 15, Parole de Vie says “the craftsmen….”

The house: As noted in verses 21 and 22, the reference here may be specifically to the Most Holy Place, which is called literally “the inner house” in verse 27, rather than to both the Most Holy Place and the nave.

Open flowers: See the comments on verse 18.

The inner and outer rooms (literally “the inside and the outside”) may refer to the Most Holy Place (here called “the inner room” in Good News Translation) and to the nave, that is, the room in front of the Most Holy Place. But it is also possible that this verse describes the carvings in the Most Holy Place only, since verse 18 describes the carvings on the walls of the nave. If verse 29 refers only to the Most Holy Place, then “the inside and the outside” may refer to the two sides of a partition between the Most Holy Place and the nave. Some translations follow the Masoretic Text literally. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond), for example, says “On all the walls of the House round about, on the interior and the exterior, he carved cherubim…” but the meaning of “on the interior and the exterior” is certainly not clear in such a literal translation.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .