The nave he lined with cypress: For nave see the previous verse. The pronoun he refers to Solomon again. He almost certainly did not do the actual work here, but had it done by others. As Bible en français courant makes explicit, it was the “walls” that were lined. Moffatt correctly uses the technical term “wainscoted,” which means “to line with boards or paneling.” But “wainscoted” is perhaps too high a language level for many readers of English. For cypress see the comments on 2 Chr 2.8. A common language way of expressing the meaning of this clause is “He caused the main room to be covered by planks of fir wood.”

And covered it with fine gold is literally “and he overlaid it with good gold.” There is no apparent difference between “pure gold” (verse 4) and fine gold.

And made palms and chains on it: The Hebrew noun for palms refers to “palm trees” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). But these were not actual palm trees; rather they were models of real trees. The word chains is rendered “chain designs” (New International Version), “chain patterns” (Good News Translation), and “designs that looked like chains” (Contemporary English Version). The significance of the chain patterns is not known. But the translation should not give the impression that there were actual metal chains present. The Hebrew word here refers to ornamental chains. A different Hebrew word refers to heavy metal chains used by laborers. The palm trees and chains were “carved” on the wood panels (so Revised English Bible, Moffatt). For this whole clause God’s Word says “and decorated it with designs in the form of palm trees and chains.”

Contemporary English Version provides a clear and helpful translation of this entire verse:

• Solomon had the inside walls of the temple’s main room paneled first with pine and then with a layer of gold, and he had them decorated with carvings of palm trees and designs that looked like chains.

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 .