Then David said to Solomon his son: Since David had already told Solomon to “be strong, and do it” (verse 10), Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch begins this verse with “Once more David said to his son Solomon.” Since Solomon has already been identified in this section as David’s son, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy omits the words his son here.

Be strong and of good courage, and do it: See the comments on verse 10 and 1 Chr 22.13.

For the LORD God, even my God, is with you: See the comments on 1 Chr 17.2.

Fear not, be not dismayed: See the comments on 1 Chr 22.13.

He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished: Compare Deut 31.6, 8. The word until does not imply that God will forsake Solomon once the Temple has been built. Since the word until may convey incorrect meaning, New Living Translation provides a better model here with “He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also expresses the correct meaning with “He will not forsake you and will not leave you in the lurch, but he will help you to complete all this work on his Temple.” Yet another possible model is “He will be with you throughout the entire project of building the Temple. He will never leave you or fail to help you.” All the work for the service of the house of the LORD refers to the work of building the Temple. In verse 13 and 1 Chr 9.13, a similar expression refers to the rituals of worship rather than the building of the Temple.

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 .