Who has kept with thy servant David my father what thou didst declare to him: Solomon acknowledges to God that God has kept his promise to David. Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation here is awkward. In Revised Standard Version this first half of the verse is a continuation of the sentence begun in the previous verse and is technically a relative clause. But most modern versions begin a new sentence here for naturalness; for example, New Century Version says “You have kept the promise you made to your servant David, my father.”

The use of the archaic pronouns thy and thou in Revised Standard Version reflects no special form in the Hebrew text and should be avoided in translation. Similarly, the use of the archaic verbs hast and didst represents no special form in Hebrew. Therefore no attempt should be made to imitate it in translation.

Yea, thou didst speak with thy mouth, and with thy hand hast fulfilled it this day: Yea renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it introduces a repetition of what Solomon just said, so it is used for emphasis. For this reason New Revised Standard Version renders it “Indeed,” which is a good model.

The word mouth represents words while hands represents deeds (see the comments on 2Chr 6.4). Thou didst speak with thy mouth may be considered redundant in many languages and may therefore be translated with a more natural expression. Some interpreters consider it an emphatic statement focusing on the certainty of God’s pledge, so Moffatt has “thou didst make him thine own promise.” Good News Translation combines this clause with the last one, saying “today every word has been fulfilled.” But in those languages where the passive is not an option, it may be better to follow the model of Parole de Vie, which reads “Yes, what you had promised him in words, you fulfilled it yourself today.” Revised English Bible reverses the two clauses by saying “by your deeds this day you have fulfilled what you said to him in words.”

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 .