And said: The verb said may be translated “prayed” (Good News Translation, New American Bible) since it introduces Solomon’s prayer.
O LORD, God of Israel …: As elsewhere, the vocative O at the beginning of the prayer reflects nothing in the Hebrew and need not be translated unless the receptor language requires something like this to begin a prayer. Similarly, the archaic pronouns thee and thy do not express a special form in Hebrew and should be translated by ordinary second person singular pronouns.
There is no God like thee, in heaven or on earth: This expression focuses on the unique character of the God of Israel. Solomon is not denying here the existence of other gods. Rather, he is declaring that no other god is as faithful as Yahweh is to the commitments that he has made to his own people. The following restructuring of Contemporary English Version may be a good model for certain other languages: “no other god in heaven or on earth is like you!” Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version use lowercase for the word “god” since the reference is to gods other than the God of Israel.
Keeping covenant and showing steadfast love is literally “keeping covenant and steadfast love” (compare Deut 7.9, 12). For covenant see 1 Chr 11.3; for steadfast love, see 1 Chr 16.34 and 2 Chr 1.8. Keeping covenant describes Yahweh’s faithfulness to his people. He honors his own promises and respects the agreement that he made with Israel. Some possible translations here are “You never forget the agreement” (Contemporary English Version), “You maintain the alliance” (Bible en français courant), and “you are loyal to the covenant” (New Jerusalem Bible). But keeping covenant and showing steadfast love do not speak of two separate actions on the part of God. Rather, he shows his constant love by keeping the covenant that he had made. For this reason New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh combines these two phrases into one by saying “You who steadfastly maintain the Covenant.”
Thy servants is a deferential way of referring to the people of God. It may be necessary in some languages to say “us, your servants” in order to ensure that Solomon is also included in the mind of the reader. Good News Translation translates simply “your people,” which loses the sense of “obedience” implied in the word servants. It may be better to say “your people who worship you” or “your people who serve you.”
Who walk before thee with all their heart: Often in the Old Testament the Hebrew verb rendered walk is used in the figurative sense of “to live or behave in a certain way.” In this context walk before thee characterizes the relationship of God’s people with him. It is a relationship of obedience or continuing faithfulness. For this reason some may prefer to translate walk as “obey” (International Children’s Bible) or “continue faithful” (Revised English Bible). With all their heart indicates the manner in which God’s people follow him. In many languages it may be translated by an adverb of manner, such as “wholeheartedly” (New International Version), “faithfully” (Contemporary English Version), or “completely” (International Children’s Bible).
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 .