And may be better rendered “Later on” (similarly New Living Translation) or “Afterwards,” since the actions described in this verse most likely did not take place immediately.

King Rehoboam made in their stead shields of bronze: Rehoboam replaced the gold shields with bronze ones. It is not likely that he himself made them but rather that he “had [them] made” (Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous). For the translation of the word bronze, see the comments on 1 Chr 15.19 and 2 Chr 1.5.

And committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard: Revised Standard Version has added the pronoun them as the context requires in English. The Hebrew verb translated committed, when used in its form here, means “to hand over to someone” or “to give [something] on deposit.” For committed them to the hands of, NASB says “committed them to the care of.” The guard is literally “the runners” (La Bible Pléiade, Osty-Trinquet). One of their duties was to run before the king as his bodyguard and protect him. The Hebrew word here is plural, which is also the sense of the English words the guard.

Who kept the door of the king’s house: The door of the king’s house is a literal translation of the Hebrew and refers to the doors or gates of the royal palace. New International Version, New American Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say “the entrance to/of the royal palace.” The Contemporary English Version rendering “the city gates” does not express the correct meaning. For this whole clause Revised English Bible has “who guarded the entrance of the palace,” while New Living Translation says “who protected the entrance to the royal palace.”

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 .