And, which renders the common Hebrew conjunction, introduces the next event. The Israelite leaders came in response to Solomon’s summons, so New Living Translation renders it “So,” and Bible en français courant has “Then.” Like Good News Translation, most modern English versions omit it. Some, including New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, begin a new paragraph here.

All the men of Israel assembled before the king: Revised Standard Version gives a literal translation of the Hebrew here, but such a rendering may incorrectly suggest to the reader that all the men of Israel is an additional group beyond the groups mentioned in the previous verse. On the contrary, this verse simply tells when the leaders of Israel came together in Jerusalem. Therefore some versions substitute the pronoun “They” (referring to the leaders mentioned in verse 2) for all the men of Israel (so Good News Translation, New Living Translation). However, Bible en français courant indicates that all the men of Israel is in fact a different group from those listed in verse 2. Bible en français courant renders this whole verse as “Then all the Israelites gathered also for the feast of the seventh month.” This translation seems to indicate that the people as a whole gathered because of the festival, while the leaders gathered because Solomon had called them together.

Did Solomon call together men only? New Revised Standard Version and New Century Version say “all the Israelites” in order to avoid excluding women. However, Revised English Bible, which uses inclusive language when the translators believe that both sexes were intended by the biblical writers, says “All the men of Israel.” In this context Revised English Bible may be justified in keeping the word “men” in the translation since the Law required all Israelite males to go to Jerusalem for the Festival of Shelters (see Deut 16.16). Yet Deut 16 also indicates that the men will celebrate with both their sons and daughters and both their male and female slaves (Deut 16.11, 14). So either interpretation of this expression is possible.

Good News Translation omits the phrase before the king, but this detail should be kept in translation.

At the feast which is in the seventh month: The feast is the Festival of Shelters. See Lev 23.34-43 for the instructions regarding the observance of this festival. This festival was held at the time of the autumn harvest. In remembrance of the years long ago when their ancestors wandered through the wilderness, the Israelites constructed rough shelters in which to live during the eight-day celebration. The Jewish name for this festival is Sukkoth (the Hebrew word for “shelters”). It will be helpful to give the name of this festival in translation since it would have been known to the original readers. In modern versions it is sometimes called “the Festival of Shelters” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, La Bible du Semeur), but it is also known as “the Festival of Booths” (God’s Word) and “the Festival of Tabernacles” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The specific rendering in the receptor language here will depend on the way in which this festival is translated in other contexts. In English feast is better rendered “festival” (New Revised Standard Version). Since the Israelites living outside of Jerusalem were required by the Law of Moses to go to Jerusalem each year for this festival as well as for the Festival of Unleavened Bread and the Festival of Weeks (Deut 16.16), Revised English Bible calls it a “pilgrim-feast.”

Which is in the seventh month (mid-September to mid-October) qualifies the feast. Good News Translation omits this clause since it identifies the festival by name. However, it seems better to keep the clause (so God’s Word, La Bible du Semeur, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). New Living Translation has a somewhat more vague temporal reference, indicating that the festival was held “in early autumn.” The seventh month is called by its Canaanite name “Ethanim” in the parallel text of 1 Kgs 8.2. Its Hebrew name is Tishri.

While not agreeing in all details with the Contemporary English Version translation of verses 2-3, we recommend its restructuring of these two verses as a helpful model for other languages. For these two verses Contemporary English Version reads:

• The sacred chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also known as the city of David. But Solomon decided to have the chest moved to the temple while everyone was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Shelters during the seventh month.
Solomon called together all the important leaders of Israel.

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 .