This verse in the Hebrew seems repetitious and heavy when translated literally into English. Some scholars think that a scribe accidentally repeated the first word of this verse, and they correct the Hebrew text. Even translations that are based on the Hebrew as it stands may simplify for reasons of style in the receptor language, as Good News Translation has done. Compare also Bible en français courant, which reads “as well as the weight of the golden lampstands and lamps, of the silver lampstands and lamps, according to the respective uses.”

For the construction of the lamps and the lampstands, see Exo 25.31-40; 37.17-24. The lampstands were probably stands that were cylindrical in shape with their tops and bottoms flaring out. For a good description of these objects, see WTH, pages 245-247|fig:WTH.Lampstand, menorah.245-247.html.

According to the use of each lampstand in the service may be rendered “depending on how each would be used” (New Living Translation). New Century Version says “The different lampstands were to be used where needed,” but the point is rather that the amount of gold and silver used depended on how each lampstand was to be used.

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 .