I will be his father, and he shall be my son: This language is often found in treaties between a sovereign king and a subordinate king. These concepts belong to the theme of the covenant and the promise of the Messiah. The divine adoption of the king assured the stability of the dynasty of David’s descendants and required loyalty by the king and his descendants (see Psa 2.7; 89.26-27). In the New Testament this verse is applied to the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ (Heb 1.5) and to the relationship between God the Father and Christians (2 Cor 6.18). The Hebrew pronoun for I is emphatic here; compare “I, I shall be a father to him…” (Knoppers). The Hebrew pronoun for he is emphatic as well.

I will not take my steadfast love from him: For steadfast love, see the comments on 1 Chr 16.34. Moffatt and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy say “kindness.”

As I took it from him who was before you: This is an allusion to King Saul (see 1 Sam 15.28), as several functional equivalent translations make explicit (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, La Biblia: Traducción en Lenguaje Actual). However, since the author probably intentionally left out the name of Saul, some translators may prefer to put this information in a footnote rather than including the name of Saul in the text here.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .