Verses 5-6 consist of a quotation within a quotation. Solomon speaks in verses 4-11; and within these verses he quotes the words of God in verses 5-6 and 8-9. Contemporary English Version transforms verses 5-6 into indirect discourse, but by doing this it drops certain elements.

Since the day that I brought my people out of the land of Egypt …: The word day is clearly not to be taken in its literal sense of twenty-four hours here. Bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt took far more time than a single day. The reference is to a longer period of time, so in some languages a better translation of this whole clause may be “Long ago I brought my people out of the land of Egypt and since that time [or, then]….”

In all the tribes of Israel: Good News Translation says simply “in the land of Israel,” but this rendering fails to maintain the reference to the tribes within the people of Israel. Moffatt is better with “out of any clan of Israel.”

House refers to a “temple” (Good News Translation). But in some languages it may be more appropriate to use a general term for a “building” in this context.

That my name might be there is literally “to be my name there.” This clause expresses the purpose of the words to build a house. The words my name might be there indicate that this is where people should come to worship God (see the comments on 1 Chr 22.7-8). This clause may be translated “where people can worship me.” In the Old Testament a name is more than a label by which a person or place is identified. Most names had a meaning and represented the person. In this case there is an indirect reference to God’s mysterious name Yahweh. For this reason some translations capitalize the word “name” (so New International Version, Bible de Jérusalem, La Bible des Communautés Chrétiennes, Osty-Trinquet). Some other ways of translating a house, that my name might be there are “a Temple where I might be present” (La Bible du Semeur), “a temple for my presence” (Moffatt), and “a temple … to honor my name” (New Living Translation).

And I chose no man as prince over my people Israel: For prince see the comments on 1 Chr 5.2. As prince over may be rendered “to lead” (Good News Translation) or “to rule” (Moffatt).

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 .