Nearly all translations consider verse 9 to be part of the narrative, which was interrupted by the author’s comment to his readers at the end of verse 8. There is no verb in the Hebrew text at the beginning of verse 9, which is literally “Nothing in the ark….” Walsh, however, regards all of verse 9 as a continuation of the author’s direct comment to his readers, so he translates with a present tense verb as follows: “There is nothing in the ark….” If this interpretation is followed, then the parentheses should close at the end of verse 9 and not at the end of verse 8 as in Good News Translation.

The two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb: Exo 40.20 and Deut 10.5 record that Moses placed these tablets in the Covenant Box. The tables of stone were not tables in the sense that we use the word today. They were simply “flat stones” (Contemporary English Version).

In the Old Testament the names Horeb and Mount Sinai are both used in reference to the same place. Good News Translation substitutes the more familiar name Mount Sinai here. Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation also use the name “Mount Sinai” in the text and state in a footnote that the Hebrew is “Horeb.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente reads “Horeb” in the text and indicates in a footnote that this is another name for Mount Sinai. What is important is that readers of the receptor language understand that the two terms refer to the same place.

Where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel: Where translates a common Hebrew relative particle. It should probably be rendered “by which,” as Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests; that is, the Hebrew relative particle introduces a clause that tells how the two stone tablets were used—they were used to make the covenant with Israel. According to the rendering in Revised Standard Version, the particle introduces a clause that tells what happened at Horeb. Good News Translation has given a temporal force to this particle by rendering it “when.”

Some interpreters have misread the evidence of the Septuagint and claim that it reads “There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with….” This is the basis for the New Jerusalem Bible translation, which incorrectly states in a footnote that this is the reading of the Septuagint. What the Septuagint does read, in fact, is the following: “There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant, which Moses had placed in it at Horeb, which the Lord made with….” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text, and since it makes good sense, there is no reason to follow a different text.

Made a covenant is literally “cut [a covenant].” In the ancient Near Eastern world of the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed and cut up as part of the covenant-making ceremony. From this comes the technical phrase “to cut a covenant.” For covenant see the comments on 1 Kgs 3.15.

People of Israel is literally “sons of Israel” (King James Version “children of Israel”). Often in the Old Testament this Hebrew expression refers not to young people, but to the Israelite people as a whole (compare 1 Kgs 6.1). So the Revised Standard Version rendering is preferable to a literal translation.

When they came out of the land of Egypt: The writer has already stated in 1 Kgs 6.1 that this occurred nearly five hundred years earlier. Here the writer does not refer to the role of God in this event, but later in verses 16 and 21 he says that God brought them out of Egypt.

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

Verses 44 and 45 present a sixth situation in which God’s people may turn to him in prayer. Such a time of war occurs in chapters 20 and 22 of 1 Kings.

Their enemy: Even though the noun here is singular in the Hebrew, the meaning is collective and may be expressed with the plural “their enemies” (so Good News Translation, Nouvelle Bible Segond).

By whatever way thou shalt send them: These words indicate that the battle is one that the Israelites fight because God has commanded them to do so. Revised English Bible says “wherever you send them.”

They pray to the LORD: Here Solomon speaks to God in the third person. Good News Translation and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente change this to the second person pronoun “you.” Certain other versions also convert to the second person singular form. Contemporary English Version, however, retains the divine name, beginning the verse with “Our LORD, sometimes you….” Translators will need to determine whether to follow the form of the Hebrew or whether it is more natural for them to keep second person pronouns throughout as Good News Translation has done.

The city is, of course, Jerusalem (also in verse 48).

The house which I have built for thy name: See the comments at 1 Kgs 3.2.

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

But: The common Hebrew conjunction here is translated in the same way by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible, because there is a contrast between the expectation that Hiram would be happy with what he found and the fact that he was unhappy.

Hiram came from Tyre to see the cities: In this context the Hebrew verb rendered to see may appropriately be translated “to inspect” (Revised English Bible).

They did not please him is literally “they were not pleasing in his eyes.” He inspected the towns and “they did not satisfy him” (Revised English Bible). In certain languages it will be unnatural to make the cities the subject of this sentence. It will be more natural to say “he [Hiram] was unhappy with them [the cities]” or “[he] was not satisfied with them” (New American Bible).

Good News Translation abbreviates this verse by leaving implicit the detail that Hiram came from Tyre and by substituting the pronoun “them” for the cities which Solomon had given him.

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

And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king: These words introduce what follows in verses 27b-40. If translators follow the form of the Hebrew, they should be sure that the pronoun he clearly refers to Jeroboam. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates the first half of this verse as follows: “The circumstances under which he raised his hand against the king were as follows.” Some common language translations rephrase it and say simply “This is the story of the revolt” (Good News Translation; similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, New Living Translation) or “Here is how it happened” (Contemporary English Version). For the expression lifted up his hand, see the comments on the previous verse.

Millo: See the comments on 1 Kgs 9.15.

Closed up the breach of the city of David means Solomon was repairing the walls around Jerusalem (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Both New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible supply the words “in the wall” after the Hebrew noun rendered breach. New Revised Standard Version says “closed up the gap in the wall of the city….” This information should probably be made explicit in other languages also.

For the city of David, see 1 Kgs 2.10 and 8.1.

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

Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel …: In verse 16 “Israel” clearly refers to the people of the northern kingdom and does not include the people of Judah. The words the people of Israel (literally “the sons/children of Israel”; see 1 Kgs 6.1) most logically have the same reference here in verse 17. That is, Rehoboam ruled over the people originally from the northern tribes who now lived in the southern kingdom. In addition, he ruled over all the people of the tribe of Judah, but this is only implied here. See the comments on “the rest of the people” in verse 23.

The translation in Good News Translation appears to refer only to members of the tribe of Judah, but that is probably not the intended meaning of the Hebrew. Translators should make clear the meaning of Israel in this verse (as also in the previous verse). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides a useful model with “Only the families from the northern tribes, who lived in the cities of Judah, recognized Rehoboam as king.”

De Vries accepts one part of the Septuagint tradition and translates verse 17 as follows: “But the Judahites and the Israelites who were living in the cities of Judah caused Rehoboam to reign over them.” Translators are urged to follow the Masoretic Text, but since it is implicit in the Hebrew that the people of Judah also recognized Rehoboam as king, the translation by De Vries may be recommended as an acceptable model.

The cities of Judah: This phrase is not intended to limit the rule of Rehoboam to the large population centers of Judah. Rather, the countryside, including the smaller towns and villages in the territory, was also included. Revised English Bible translates “the cities and towns of Judah.” But it is probably better to say with Good News Translation and Bible en français courant “the territory of Judah.”

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

He cried … Judah is literally “he cried … Judah, saying.” For cried see verse 2.

Thus says the LORD, ‘Because…’: Once again the text contains a quotation within a larger quotation. This may be avoided as in Good News Translation by making the embedded quotation indirect.

Revised Standard Version, which follows the Hebrew, begins the LORD’s message with the word Because and connects this with the following verse. Good News Translation restructures the entire passage by making three sentences where Revised Standard Version has only one.

You have disobeyed the word of the LORD, and have not kept the commandment …: The last part of this verse states the same truth both positively and negatively. Because the same truth is stated in two different ways, some languages will avoid the use of the conjunction and to join them.

The word of the LORD is literally “the mouth of the LORD.” Compare Exo 17.1 and 1 Sam 12.14-15, where Revised Standard Version renders it “the commandment of the LORD.”

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

Judah here, as in verse 21, does not refer to one person named Judah but rather to “the people who lived in the kingdom of Judah.”

Did what was evil in the sight of the LORD: See the comments on 1 Kgs 11.6.

The third person pronoun they in verses 22-24 refers to the people of Judah at the time of Rehoboam. But there is a different way of understanding these verses. The Septuagint reads third person singular verbs instead of plural verbs as in the Masoretic Text. This is the basis for the New Jerusalem Bible translation, which makes Rehoboam the subject of the verbs did and provoked. This translation of the text then raises the question of who the pronoun “they” in verse 23 refers to. According to New Jerusalem Bible, “they” in verse 23 refers to the ancestors mentioned at the end of verse 22. The traditional understanding of the text, however, is probably to be preferred.

Provoked him to jealousy: According to Deut 32.16, 21, the Israelites at the time of Moses had provoked God to jealousy by worshiping strange gods and idols. In the Old Testament God demands that the Israelites give absolute loyalty to him alone, and the fact that God is provoked … to jealousy must be understood in that context. The Hebrew verb rendered provoked … to jealousy is not the same as the one rendered “provoking … to anger” in verse 9; and the Good News Translation rendering “arouse his anger” is not the best translation of the Hebrew verb here. Neither is the Contemporary English Version rendering “made him even angrier” to be recommended. This verb means “to cause someone to become extremely jealous.” The person who is jealous may feel anger, but the major component of this verb is not anger but is rather jealousy.

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