It will probably be unnecessary to repeat the qualification the priest after the name Jehoiada if this information was given earlier in the chapter.
A chest is literally “a box one,” that is, “a box” (Good News Translation, New Century Version). The Hebrew word rendered chest is the same word used for the coffin of Joseph (Gen 50.26) and for the ark of the covenant (Exo 25.10; 1 Kgs 2.26). Some scholars have suggested that the Hebrew word for “one” in this verse should be corrected to read “cedar” since the Hebrew letters in the words for “one” and “cedar” are similar in shape. Such a correction is not recommended since there is no manuscript evidence for the reading “cedar chest.” But since this box was probably made of wood, some translators may prefer to specify the material as Contemporary English Version has done by saying “a wooden box.”
Bored a hole in the lid of it: The verb bored translates a Hebrew word that means “curse” or “blaspheme” in other contexts. But here, as in 2 Kgs 18.21, the meaning is clearly “penetrate” or “pierce.” The Hebrew word for lid implies something on hinges like a door that could be swung open and shut. It would probably also have been locked in some way. The same word is used for “door” in 1 Kgs 6.31-34 and 2 Kgs 4.4-5.
Set it beside the altar: The pronoun it refers to the box with the lid on top of it and not just to the lid. Instead of the word altar, one manuscript of the Septuagint has a transliteration of a Hebrew word. Some scholars understand this word to be a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “pillar.” This is the basis for the reading “pillar” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “stele” (New American Bible, Osty-Trinquet) in some modern translations. But Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament correctly notes that the transliteration in this one Greek manuscript is more likely a transliteration of the Hebrew word for “altar.” Therefore it is probably best to follow the recommendation of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament and to translate the Hebrew word for “altar.” Revised English Bible does so with the expression “sacrificial slaughtering-place.” It is not clear whether the altar was the altar of incense inside the Temple building (see 1 Kgs 6.20), the large altar of sacrifice in the courtyard in front of the Temple (see 1 Kgs 1.50), or some other unknown altar at the entrance of the Temple. If the phrase the house of the LORD refers to the Temple building itself, then it would seem that the altar of incense is intended. But if this phrase refers more generally to the Temple area, then the large altar for sacrifices is intended. According to 2 Chr 24.8, the box was placed “at the Temple gate” (Good News Translation), so some interpreters think it was placed on the right side of the altar of sacrifice at the southern entrance to the middle courtyard of the Temple. In any case, the reference is most likely to the altar of sacrifice in front of the Temple.
On the right side as one entered the house of the LORD is literally “on the right side as a man enters….” The more literal rendering may provide a better model for some languages than the indefinite use of “one” in English. Others may prefer “on the right side of the place where people go in….” As noted above, the exact location of the box is not clear. The Hebrew expression rendered beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the LORD may mean “on the right side of the altar where people went into the temple” (Contemporary English Version) or “on the south side of the altar at the south entrance into the Temple courtyard.”
The priests who guarded the threshold refers to “The priests on duty at the entrance [of the Temple]” (Revised English Bible). These were apparently not mere doorkeepers, but high-ranking officials. Their specific duties are unknown today. Elsewhere they are called “the keepers of the threshold” and rank just after the high priest and his assistants (2 Kgs 23.4; 25.18; Jer 52.24) in importance. According to 2 Kgs 25.18, there were three priests who were given this task.
All the money that was brought: The passive construction may be avoided by saying “all the money that the people brought” or “whenever someone gave money.”
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 .