Although this verse does not directly say so, the sense seems to be that the Temple had been neglected so badly that the items made of gold and silver mentioned in this verse had disappeared over the years. Nevertheless, the silver and gold that were given to the Temple were not melted down to make the Temple objects listed here.

But: The Hebrew text has a stronger transition marker here than the common conjunction. The Hebrew adverb used here has the basic idea of “only” and is elsewhere rendered “Nevertheless” (2 Kgs 13.6) and “Still” (2 Kgs 23.26). The fact that the limited funds were at this point used only for repairs highlights the seriousness of the deterioration of the Temple.

There were not made …: This passive expression may be made active without specifying a definite agent. One way of doing this would be to say “no one made….” However, since the focus here is on the use of the funds collected, it is probably better to follow the Good News Translation model and say “no one used any of the money to pay for….”

Basins of silver: Revised English Bible, like Good News Translation, has “silver cups.” This probably refers to the containers like those that held the blood during the Passover (Exo 12.22). The same Hebrew term translated basins here is rendered “cups” in 1 Kgs 7.50. And the Hebrew word translated bowls here is rendered “basins” in 1 Kgs 7.40, 45 and 50. The distinction seems to be that the basins here in verse 13 were more shallow than the bowls mentioned later in this verse (see the comments at 1 Kgs 7.50).

The Hebrew noun rendered snuffers may come from a root meaning “to prune,” and may refer to a tool used to trim wicks (see the comments at 1 Kgs 7.50). New Jerusalem Bible and Nouvelle Bible Segond translate this as “knives.” Good News Translation uses the general expression “tools for tending the lamps.”

As noted above, the Hebrew word rendered bowls is translated “basins” in 1 Kgs 7.40 (see the comments there).

For trumpets see the comments at 2 Kgs 11.14, where the Hebrew word here is rendered in the same way.

Any vessels of gold, or of silver: Since some of the items mentioned earlier were made of silver and possibly of gold, it will be better to say “any other articles made of gold or of silver.” Like the last part of the previous verse, this is intended as a comprehensive statement to cover any cases not already mentioned.

For the passive verb was brought, see the comments on verse 9.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .