Yet renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Since what follows expresses an exception to what God might be expected to do in light of verse 18, this conjunction is correctly translated by Revised Standard Version. Some other ways of rendering it are “Even so” (New Jerusalem Bible), “But” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version), and “However” (Bible en français courant).

Have regard to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplication: Have regard to renders a Hebrew verb meaning “to turn toward.” Here the verb is used figuratively to mean “to concern oneself with.” Solomon is pleading with Yahweh to take his prayer seriously. God’s Word renders this whole clause as “please pay attention to my prayer for mercy.”

Solomon spoke of himself in the first person in the previous verse and of David as “thy servant” in verse 16. Now in this verse and the next two, he refers to himself in the third person as thy servant. He refers to himself in this way to show respect to God as he prays. Some versions change this third person reference to first person in order to show clearly that Solomon continues to refer to himself; for example, Good News Translation has “I am your servant,” and International Children’s Bible says “I, your servant.”

The Hebrew nouns rendered prayer and supplication are basically synonyms in this context. Among the various English translations are “prayer … plea for mercy” (New International Version), “prayer … request” (New Century Version), and “prayer … plea” (New Revised Standard Version). The Hebrew noun rendered prayer is the most commonly used Hebrew word for “prayer.” It often refers to intercessory prayer, as it does here. The Hebrew noun rendered supplication comes from a root meaning “to be gracious,” and is a prayer for mercy.

Hearkening to the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prays before thee: Hearkening to is a somewhat archaic way of saying “listening to” or “heeding” (New Revised Standard Version). This verb is parallel to have regard to. The Hebrew noun rendered cry comes from a root meaning “to shout for joy.” The English translation “cry” does not mean “to weep” here but rather “to shout.” The noun prayer translates the same Hebrew noun rendered prayer at the beginning of this verse; and the verb prays comes from the same root.

At the end of this verse the Septuagint and the Syriac add the word “today” (compare 1 Kgs 8.28), but the Masoretic Text does not have “today” here, and it should not be added in translation.

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 .