The altar of incense made of refined gold: See the comments on 1 Chr 6.49. Refined gold refers to gold that has been purified by having impurities removed by heating the gold. Good News Translation calls this “pure gold.”
Also his plan for …: Just as Good News Translation introduced the words “He also gave instructions” in the previous verse, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch here adds the words “he gave to Solomon.” Translators will need to consider all of verses 11-18 and decide if such additions will be needed in the receptor language in order to keep in focus the fact that all of the material in these verses is instruction that David gave to Solomon.
The golden chariot of the cherubim: Passages in Exodus, 1 Kings, and Ezekiel which refer to the Covenant Box and the cherubim do not mention any chariot. Very possibly a scribe incorrectly wrote the Hebrew word merkavah (“chariot”) instead of the word merkav (“seat”). This correction is the basis for NET Bible‘s rendering “the seat of the gold cherubim.” But the Masoretic Text clearly says chariot, and nearly all versions follow the Masoretic Text. Good News Translation indicates that the chariot is different from the cherubim themselves. Contemporary English Version similarly says “the gold statue of a chariot for the winged creatures.” Perhaps the writer refers to the Covenant Box itself as a chariot. However, it is more likely that the words the cherubim should be taken in apposition to the golden chariot; that is, the cherubim themselves served as the chariot upon which God rode (see Psa 18.10, which says that God rode upon a cherub). The grammar of the Hebrew does not support the Revised Standard Version rendering the golden chariot of the cherubim. New International Version is better with “the chariot, that is, the cherubim of gold.” For the translation of the word cherubim, see the comments on 1 Chr 13.6.
That spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD: Revised Standard Version adds their wings as the context requires. It is possible that the Hebrew word for wings was originally in the text and was accidentally omitted because the preceding word ends with the same letter as the Hebrew word for wings, and a scribe’s eyes may have jumped over the word wings (so Knoppers). In any case, the phrase their wings is implied in the Hebrew text.
As noted in the comments on verse 14, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy reflects a different interpretation of verses 14-18 from that found in most other translations. An English translation of this version is quoted here in full:
• 14 He also gave gold and silver in sufficient quantity for all the objects of gold and silver that were going to be used in the cult [that is, Temple service]; 15 for the lampstands and their lamps, those of gold as well as those of silver, he gave according to the weight that each one should have; 16 and he did the same for each one of the tables, those of gold as well as those of silver, where the consecrated bread was to be placed in rows. 17 In addition, he gave gold for the forks, the bowls and the jars, as well as enough gold and silver for the cups of both metals, according to the weight of each one. 18 He also delivered a sufficient quantity of pure gold for the altar of incense, and likewise he gave gold for the construction of the chariot, that is, of the winged beings that cover the ark of the covenant of the Lord with their wings spread.
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 .