He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high: Since this verse begins a new section, it may be best to translate the pronoun He as “Solomon” (Contemporary English Version) or “King Solomon” (Good News Translation). The action implied in the verb made is that Solomon ordered the altar to be made. He did not do it himself. So some versions say he “had a bronze altar made” (Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Parole de Vie communicates essentially the same meaning by saying “The workers made a bronze altar,” but this translation takes the focus off of Solomon.

For the construction of the altar of bronze used in the Tent of the LORD’s presence, see Exo 27.1-2. The altar that Solomon built was four times longer, four times wider, and about three times taller than the altar that Moses had built. The altar most likely had steps leading up to it (compare Ezek 43.13-17). The dimensions given here may represent the base of the altar, which would have included the steps. For a good description of this altar, see WTH, pages 239-240|fig:WTH.4.2.3.Temple altar.239-240.html. Since the base of the altar was the same length and width, some translations say it was “square” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). For the word bronze, see the comments on 1 Chr 15.19 and 2 Chr 1.5.

Regarding the modern equivalents of measurements in cubits, see the comments on 1 Chr 11.23 and 2 Chr 3.3. Twenty cubits corresponds to approximately 9 meters or 30 feet, and ten cubits corresponds to about 4.5 meters or 15 feet.

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 .