And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house: For the pronoun he, see the comments on 2Chr 4.6. The verb set may be better translated “placed” (New International Version) or “put” (Revised English Bible). The use of the passive verb “was placed” in Good News Translation may not be a reasonable option in many languages. For the sea, see the comments on 2Chr 4.2.

At the southeast corner of the house is literally “from the side of the right toward the east, from over against the Negev” (similarly Chouraqui). Revised Standard Version has added of the house (similarly Good News Translation “of the Temple”), as the sense requires. Other possible renderings are “at the right side, at the south-east corner of the temple” (Revised English Bible) and “to the southeast from the right side of the temple” (New American Bible; similarly New Jerusalem Bible). Some languages have difficulty with the word southeast. Some have expressed the meaning by saying “toward the rising sun, in the direction of the desert to the south of Israel” or “toward the sunrise, on the right-hand side.”

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 .