Following the Hebrew, Revised Standard Version follows the order: name, title, and area of rule, but the Good News Translation translators felt that it is more natural in English to speak of “King Hiram,” putting the title first. Naturalness in the receptor language should be the determining factor in deciding the order of these elements.

Tyre was the leading city of Phoenicia. David—and later Solomon—established treaties with Hiram, who supplied material and craftsmen for construction (see 1 Kgs 5.12-18; 1 Chr 14.1; 2 Chr 2.3-12).

Messengers: the word so translated may also mean “angel” or “ambassador” (so Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). In this context these representatives of King Hiram were more than mere messengers. They were closely related to the sending of builders and building materials. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “sent envoys with cedar logs.” For this reason Good News Translation speaks of a “trade mission.” But this may be difficult to translate into other languages. Some models bearing the same meaning may be “representatives to talk about trade” or “agents to negotiate agreements between their two countries.”

Cedar trees: if the receptor language uses different words for live trees and logs, it should be made quite clear that logs are intended here. Compare Num 24.6; Psa 37.35; 92.12.

Carpenters and masons refer to people who worked on two different aspects of construction. Carpenters built with wood while masons used stones. In Hebrew these people are called “carvers [or, craftsmen] of wood” and “carvers of stone walls.” In some languages it will be necessary to say “men who built with wood and those who built with stones.” In some languages the word “carpenters” is translated “hammerers” or “people of the hammer.”

In the Septuagint this verse says “craftsmen of stone”; and in a manuscript from Qumran they are called “craftsmen of walls.” It is possible that the reading in the Masoretic Text is not original but combines two separate readings, “craftsmen of stone” and “craftsmen of walls.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text. Regardless of which reading is followed, the idea is that the second group of craftsmen worked with stones.

A house: this was clearly more than a mere house. It was to be a palace. The word “palace” is used in many English versions (New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, and New Century Version, as well as Good News Translation), although others have the literal rendering of Revised Standard Version (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible). Translators should look for words that give the idea of a large and rather luxurious residence.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .