The report was true which I heard in my own land …: The word order in Hebrew of this quotation from the queen of Sheba gives prominence to the word true, although this may be difficult to bring out in the receptor language. In English this emphasis may be expressed by saying “True was the report that I heard in my own country….” In other languages the same meaning may be conveyed by the use of an adverb such as “indeed” or “truly.” La Bible du Semeur has “So it is really true what I had heard in my country….”

Report is literally “word.”

Your affairs is literally “your words” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée). Good News Translation understands this to mean simply “you.” But it acknowledges in a footnote that “your deeds” (New American Bible) is also a legitimate translation. It may also be rendered “your accomplishments” (New Revised Standard Version) or “your achievements” (Revised English Bible).

Anchor Bible renders the queen’s quote here as “The report I heard in my country about your wisdom in handling affairs of state is true.” Parole de Vie breaks it into two separate sentences, saying “In my country I heard about you and your wisdom. All that was true!”

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 .