Hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place: See the comments on verse 21.

And do according to all for which the foreigner calls to thee: Solomon asks God to answer the prayers of those non-Israelites who come from distant lands and pray to him. Revised Standard Version‘s literal rendering here sounds awkward in English. New Revised Standard Version sounds much more natural in English by saying “and do whatever the foreigners ask of you.” Contemporary English Version says simply “answer their prayers.”

In order that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name and fear thee …: The desired goal or purpose of answering the prayers of the non-Israelites is to make all peoples everywhere aware of the presence of Yahweh and of his actions in the world. The connector in order that is therefore very important.

The Hebrew says all the peoples of the earth, and most modern versions are literal renderings of the Hebrew. But the focus is on peoples as groups and not as individuals. For this reason a better model may be “all nations in the world” (similarly Moffatt).

A literal translation of know thy name may give the wrong meaning that people of other countries would know that the God of Israel is named “Yahweh.” To “know the name” of someone in Hebrew is to know the character of that person. So this expression may be better translated “know you” (Good News Translation).

For fear see the comments on verse 31.

And that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name: Another purpose of answering the prayers of the non-Israelites is to make all peoples everywhere aware that the Temple belongs to God. According to Curtis and Madsen, this house … is called by thy name means “he [God] became its owner. This involved responsibility for its welfare on the part of Yahweh” (page 344). The passive expression is called by thy name may be avoided by saying “bears your name” (God’s Word, Dillard) or “belongs to you” ( NET 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 .