And he made ten golden lampstands as prescribed …: The pronoun he refers to either “Huram” (Parole de Vie) the craftsman or “Solomon” (International Children’s Bible) as the person who contracted the work by others. See the comments on 2Chr 4.6.

For lampstands see the comments on 1 Chr 28.15. The Tabernacle had only one lampstand (see Exo 25.31-40), but the Temple had ten. Golden probably means they were made of solid gold.

As prescribed is literally “according to their rule.” The reference may be to the instructions given in Exo 25.31-40 and 37.17-24 concerning the lampstand in the Tabernacle, or the reference may be to the instructions that David gave to Solomon in 1 Chr 28.11-19, especially 28.15. Translations include “in the prescribed manner” (Revised English Bible), “according to specifications” ( NET Bible), and “according to pattern” (New Jerusalem Bible). Other languages may have to say “exactly in the way that they were supposed to be made” or possibly “in the way that God appointed that people should make these things.”

And set them in the temple: In both verses 7 and 8 the Hebrew word for temple is hekal, which refers to the main room of the Temple. Translators should make this clear. The following translations give the correct sense of in the temple: “in the nave” (New American Bible; similarly El libro del Pueblo de Dios), “in the Hekal” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, Osty-Trinquet), “in the main room of the Temple” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), “in the great room of the temple” (Parole de Vie), and “in the hekal, the large central room” (Beaumont). If translators choose to transliterate the Hebrew term, then Beaumont is a better model than those translations that do not explain the meaning of the Hebrew noun hekal.

Five on the south side and five on the north: See the comments on 2Chr 4.6. Contemporary English Version says “five on each side” (similarly Good News Translation), which is acceptable, but since the Temple faced east, the reference is clearly to the south and north sides of the main room.

He also made ten tables: For the ten tables, see the comments on 1 Chr 28.16. Instructions regarding the single table for the Tabernacle are found in Exo 25.23-30. In the Tabernacle the single table was used for the showbread. It is not stated whether the ten tables here were to be used for the ten lampstands or for the showbread.

And he made a hundred basins of gold: Basins were bowls used to hold the blood of the animals that had been killed for sacrifices (see Exo 24.6; see also the comments on 1 Chr 28.17). Compared to the “lavers” mentioned in verse 6, these containers were smaller. Since the blood in these bowls was sprinkled on the altar, basins may be translated “sprinkling basins,” “sprinkling bowls” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant), or “tossing-bowls” (Revised English Bible). In some languages it may be necessary to add a separate clause to convey the meaning of sprinkling; for example, a possible model is “they put in them the blood that they scattered on the altar.”

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 .