The Hebrew particle at the beginning of this verse is rendered For by Revised Standard Version and a number of other English translations. However, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New Century Version simply begin a new paragraph here. Naturalness in the receptor language should determine which of these options is chosen.

The pronoun he at the beginning of this verse refers to Solomon, but in view of the long list of supplies which intervenes since he was last mentioned in the text, it will probably be wise to replace the pronoun with the proper name, as Good News Translation and a number of other modern versions do.

Had dominion translates a Hebrew verb that is similar in meaning to the Hebrew verb rendered “ruled” in verse 21. If there is any intended difference in meaning between these two verbs in this context, the verb here in verse 24 may stress the act of force, but there is probably no difference in meaning intended. New International Version and Contemporary English Version translate both as “ruled.”

The region west of the Euphrates is literally “beyond the river” (see the comments on verse 21). During the Persian period, the territory between the Euphrates River and the Mediterranean Sea was officially called “Beyond the River.” The writer appears to be writing from somewhere east of the Euphrates, and for this reason many interpreters consider the rest of this chapter to be a later addition to the text, written after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. (See also the discussion of this expression in 1 Kgs 14.15, where it is not clear whether the reference is to regions east or west of the Euphrates River.)

Tiphsah was a city located on the Euphrates River at the farthest western point of the River. Gaza was the last city in Palestine before one entered the Sinai Desert. It had also been one of the leading city-states of the Philistines. The words to Gaza are parallel in meaning to the words “to the land of the Philistines” in verse 21. Since Gaza was located near the Mediterranean Sea,Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translates the first part of this verse as follows: “He ruled over all the region included between the Euphrates and the Sea from Tiphsah to Gaza.”

The words over all the kings west of the Euphrates (literally “over all the kings beyond the river”) are parallel in meaning to the first part of this verse. If translators keep the parallelism of the Hebrew, they should be clear that these words are not referring to additional regions. Contemporary English Version simplifies the repetition in the first half of this verse and says simply “Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza.”

He had peace on all sides round about him: This means that Solomon had peaceful relations with “the neighboring countries” (Good News Translation) that bordered his kingdom.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .