If the pronoun references in this verse are unclear, it is recommended that one or more of the pronouns be translated by nouns. The subject is Evilmerodach, and he is speaking to Jehoiachin.

Spoke kindly to him is literally “spoke to him good things.” This expression implies more than mere talk. The words were followed up by benevolent actions. For this reason Revised English Bible, like Good News Translation, translates “treated him kindly.” As noted at 1 Kgs 12.7, the words “speak good words” are found in the language of ancient Near Eastern treaties. Some interpreters suggest that such a technical usage is intended here. If so, the sense will be that Evilmerodach entered into some form of legal agreement or treaty with Jehoiachin, perhaps granting him status as a vassal-king. None of the versions consulted, however, makes this interpretation explicit in translation. Instead, all use a general expression, such as spoke kindly to him (Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

Gave him a seat above the seats of the kings: The plural word kings almost certainly refers to other exiled rulers who, like Jehoiachin, were now subject to the Babylonian monarch. This is why Good News Translation speaks of “other kings.” These other kings were not, however, other Jewish kings. Administrative documents discovered in Babylon also list prisoners of war from Tyre, Sidon, Gaza, Ashdod, and several other nations. For this reason Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “foreign kings.”

A seat above the seats of these other kings does not refer to actual physical elevation. Rather, the reference is to a position of greater respect. Contemporary English Version translates “honored him more than any of the other kings.”

Who were with him in Babylon: Here Babylon probably refers to the entire kingdom rather than exclusively to the capital. So translators are advised to render this “Babylonia” if the receptor language uses different nouns for the two names. Good News Translation makes explicit that these kings “were exiles with him in Babylonia.”

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 .

Verse 4 ends with David quoting the words of God. In order to show clearly that in verse 5 David again speaks his own words of advice to Solomon, some translations begin this verse by saying “David continued” (Bible en français courant; similarly Parole de Vie).

Moreover you know also …: You know in Revised Standard Version does not reflect the use of the emphatic pronoun in Hebrew. Compare Chouraqui: “And you also, you know….” Anchor Bible attempts to show the emphasis by using italic font: “Furthermore, you know….” New American Bible attempts to do so with “You yourself….” A number of versions follow Revised Standard Version by adding the word Moreover or “Further” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) in an effort to convey the significance of this transition. Good News Translation does so by including the sentence “There is something else” (similarly New Living Translation). Yet this version also fails to reflect the emphatic pronoun.

What Joab … did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel …: Since Joab has been identified in chapter 1 as the son of Zeruiah (see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.7), Good News Translation omits the name of his mother Zeruiah here. For Joab’s killing of Abner, see 2 Sam 3.27; and for his killing of Amasa, see 2 Sam 20.10. In David’s first years as king, when he ruled over the tribe of Judah only, Joab was the commander of David’s army troops. Abner had commanded the northern troops that remained loyal to Saul’s family. Amasa had commanded troops loyal to Absalom, and later he was appointed commander by David (2 Sam 20.4).

Here the father of Amasa is named Jether, but in 2 Sam 17.25 his name is “Ithra.” Since the same person is intended here as in 2 Samuel, some translations use the same form in both cases (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Century Version).

The words what Joab … did to me and how he dealt with the two commanders … refer to the same thing. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “You know the evil that Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me. He killed the two commanders….” Some Hebrew manuscripts and some ancient versions have the common Hebrew conjunction between these two clauses. But even if the conjunction is accepted as original, it should be translated “indeed” rather than “and.”

The last part of this verse contains several textual difficulties following the words whom he murdered. There are two different forms of the text as follows:
(1) The Masoretic Text says “and he put bloods of war in peace, and he put the bloods of war on his girdle which [is] about his loins and on his sandals which [are] on his feet.”

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text, which is followed by New International Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Revised English Bible. The plural noun “bloods” signifies blood shed violently. That Joab “put bloods of war in peace” means that he broke the time of peace by killing people (or, shedding blood) as in times of war. Revised English Bible says “breaking the peace by bloody acts of war.” Contemporary English Version translates “He killed them as if they were his enemies in a war, but he did it when there was no war.” New Living Translation similarly says “He pretended that it was an act of war, but it was done in a time of peace.”

That he put such blood on his belt and his sandals may mean that Joab was so close to both Abner and Amasa when he killed them, that their blood spilled onto him. The editors of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggest that the words “he put the bloods of war on his girdle which [is] about his loins and on his sandals which [are] on his feet” should be understood rather literally. New Revised Standard Version says “putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist, and on the sandals on his feet.” Compare also International Children’s Bible: “And their blood got on his belt and sandals.” It is possible, however, to understand these words to mean “Now he bears the responsibility for what he has done” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente; similarly Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates these words literally and then explains in a footnote that this is “a figurative way of saying that Joab is responsible for this double murder.”
(2) Part of the Septuagint tradition says “and he avenged the blood of war in peace. And he put innocent blood on my life and on the girdle of my loins and on my sandals that are on my feet.”

Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation and numerous other translations follow this reading instead of the Masoretic Text (so New American Bible, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Notice that the Septuagint says that he “avenged” the blood rather than “shed” the blood. And the Septuagint says that the innocent blood was put on David’s belt and sandals, rather than on Joab’s. The meaning of this reading is that since David was the king and head of the army, he was responsible for these two murders, even though Joab was the one who did the killing.

Translators are urged to follow the Masoretic Text here. However, if the Septuagint is followed, a literal translation such as in Revised Standard Version will probably not be very meaningful. Good News Translation is a better model for this reading.

The words girdle and sandals may be problematic for some translators. In place of the girdle, most modern versions speak of a “belt” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). In some languages this will be rendered “sash” since it refers to something tied around the waist. Instead of sandals it may be necessary in some languages to use a more general term such as “footwear.” The details of the articles of clothing here are less important than the essential point of responsibility for the deaths of Abner and Amasa.

Loins translates a Hebrew noun that refers to the area of the body which unites the upper and lower parts of the body. Translations of this noun include loins (the hip-area; New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “waist” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New International Version, Revised English Bible), “thighs,” and “body.”

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 .

This verse contains two quotations within a quotation. Good News Translation turns the two embedded quotations into indirect quotations; and this may be a good model in other languages. Solomon’s long question is rhetorical and may be restated as positive affirmations (so Good News Translation). For the terminology used in these embedded quotations, see the comments at verses 37-38.

Sent and summoned Shimei: The Hebrew text has no object for the verb sent. Translators may say “sent messengers and called Shimei” or simply combine the two verbs sent and summoned into one verb, as Good News Translation has done. See the comments at verse 36, where these same two verbs are used together in the same way.

For swear by the LORD, see verse 8.

Solemnly admonish translates a Hebrew verb meaning “to give a strong warning.”

The Septuagint adds the words “from Jerusalem,” following the words on the day you go forth. Some modern translations similarly add “Jerusalem” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “this/the city” (Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) for reasons of clarity in translation.

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 .

The Hebrew noun rendered high officials designates persons who are officials or leaders, and the context specifies the nature of their role as leaders. The translation “ministres” in certain French versions (Nouvelle version Segond révisée, La Bible du Semeur) is intended to show that these officials were very high ranking in the court of the king.

Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest: The genealogies given for the family of Zadok and Azariah in 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles differ. According to 2 Sam 15.27 and 36, Ahimaaz was the son of Zadok; and according to 1 Chr 6.9-10 (1 Chr 5.34-35 in the Masoretic Text), Azariah was the son of Ahimaaz. So it is not clear whether Azariah was literally the son of Zadok or whether this should be translated “the grandson of Zadok” (as in La Bible du Semeur).

The second half of this verse is literally “Azariah the son of Zadok the priest.” Nearly all translations understand this to mean that Azariah himself was a priest as was his father Zadok. Unlike Zadok, Abiathar, and Zabud, who are called “priests” in verses 4 and 5, Azariah is called the priest. Use of the definite article may indicate that Azariah was the head of the priests in Jerusalem (compare 1 Kgs 1.7, 8).

At the beginning of the next verse, most translations take the name “Elihoreph” to be a proper name with the possible meaning “My God is autumn.” But the name “Elihoreph” is not otherwise known in the Old Testament. With a slight change in spelling, the name is changed to a Hebrew word meaning “over the autumn.” Revised English Bible has corrected the name “Elihoreph” in this way and has made it part of verse 2. Since the Hebrew New Year began in the autumn, the sense would be that Azariah was in charge of the calendar, which regulated the seasons and festivals. Such an office is known to have existed in other ancient Near Eastern countries. Revised English Bible translates the second half of this verse as “In charge of the calendar: Azariah son of Zadok the priest.” But since no manuscript support exists for such a change of the Masoretic Text, translators should follow the Masoretic Text, as do most translations.

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 .

Now translates the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it simply expresses the continuation of the story. If a new section is begun here, it may not be necessary to translate the conjunction.

Hiram king of Tyre: Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew order of 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 projects (1 Kgs 5.1-12; 1 Chr 14.1; 2 Chr 2.3-16).

Servants: The word so translated has a wide range of uses. Servants of a king include domestic servants, officers, and even ambassadors (see 1 Kgs 1.2 and the discussion on “servant,” in “Translating 1–2 Kings,” page 12). In this context these representatives of King Hiram were more than mere servants. A number of translations use terms that reflect the official nature of this visit, for example, “envoys” (Revised English Bible), “messengers” (New Century Version), “a delegation” (Bible en français courant), “an embassy” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Peregrino), and “officials” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Contemporary English Version).

When he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father: Hebrew uses an indefinite third person plural verb for anointed, without making explicit the subject of the verb. The implied subject is probably the priests of Israel. It will be noted, however, that in 1 Kgs 1.34 and 1.45 the subjects of the verb “anoint” are a priest and a prophet. Contemporary English Version says simply “When Hiram learned that Solomon was king,” but this translation eliminates the focus on the act of anointing, as does the translation in Good News Translation. If possible, the act of anointing should be kept as part of the meaning. Regarding the meaning and translation of anointed, see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.34. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “When he learned that Solomon had been consecrated king….” This will be a good model for those languages where passive verb forms are common.

For Hiram always loved David: The Hebrew conjunction translated for frequently introduces a clause indicating why something happened. In this case it was because of his friendship with David that King Hiram took the action indicated.

In some contexts loved may be more appropriately translated as “was a friend of” rather than with some form of the verb “to love.” Compare New Revised Standard Version: “for Hiram had always been a friend to David” (similarly Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The terms “to love” and “to hate” are frequently used in the Old Testament for loyalty and disloyalty in a political sense (see 1 Sam 16.21; 20.17); and loved probably carries the meaning here of being political allies. The word always renders the Hebrew words “all the days.”

It may be helpful in some translations to reverse the order of information in this verse, as Good News Translation and others have done. Bible en français courant (similarly Parole de Vie) provides a good model for the entire verse:

• Hiram, king of the city of Tyre, had always been a friend of David. When he learned that Solomon had been consecrated king in order to succeed his father David, he sent a delegation to present him his best wishes.

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 .

The idea behind the expression He built (which occurs twice in this verse) is that Solomon made other people to build. If the passive construction of Good News Translation (“was built”) is not an option, then it may be possible to say “he caused the workers to build.”

Twenty cubits: By using the same equivalence for cubit as in verse 2, this would be about 10 meters or 30 feet.

The rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the rafters: See the comments in verse 15 on the textual problem here. The Good News Translation rendering “and was partitioned off by cedar boards” may seem to suggest that the cedar boards only formed a wall between the Most Holy Place and the nave in front of it. But the meaning of the Hebrew seems to be that all four walls of the Most Holy Place were made of cedar boards.

The inner sanctuary (first mentioned in verse 5) was in the shape of a cube. It was about 10 meters (30 feet) long, 10 meters (30 feet) wide, and 10 meters (30 feet) high. It was located at the west end of the Temple, at the opposite end from the entrance.

The most holy place is literally “the holy of holies.” This Hebrew idiom means “the most holy place.” Based on information from elsewhere in the Old Testament, Bible en français courant supplies important information that would have been in the minds of the original readers when they heard this term, by saying “the room of the ark of the covenant, called the very holy place.” This becomes evident in the Hebrew text in verse 19 below.

The translation of the word holy is particularly difficult in some languages. It is used throughout the Old Testament to qualify more than fifty different nouns. In most cases the primary component of meaning is “set apart from ordinary use” or “dedicated to God.” The idea of moral purity is a secondary component in some contexts. In this context it is clear that the place in question is dedicated especially to God and to be used only for certain purposes; that is, it is set apart from ordinary use.

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 .

The Hebrew says that Huram was the son of a widow. Good News Translation makes this explicit by saying “His father, who was no longer living.”

Huram’s mother is said to be from the tribe of Naphtali, but according to 2 Chr 2.14 she was from the tribe of Dan. However this difference is to be explained, translators should not change either text to agree with the other. The tribe of Naphtali was located on Israel’s northern border, and so was the tribe of Dan. Slotki argues that the words of the tribe of Naphtali refer to Huram, not to his mother, and that his father (a man of Tyre) was not a native of Tyre but rather was an Israelite who resided in Tyre. Though it is possible to read the Hebrew this way, it is not the most natural reading and is motivated by the desire to harmonize this account with that in 2 Chr 2.14.

A worker in bronze: The Hebrew term rendered bronze means both “bronze” and “copper,” but “bronze” is probably what is intended here. Copper is a reddish metal, and bronze is a man-made alloy (compound) of copper and tin (and sometimes other elements). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh uses the word “copper” when the reference is to the natural product and “bronze” when the reference is to the object made with the alloy of copper and tin. Anchor Bible calls Huram’s father “a coppersmith.” Where copper and bronze are unknown, translators may have to resort to a more general term meaning “metal.”

For the first half of the verse, New Living Translation reads “He was half Israelite, since his mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father had been a foundry worker from Tyre.”

He was full of wisdom, understanding, and skill: The three nouns wisdom, understanding, and skill are similar in meaning. Here they do not refer to intellectual wisdom in the abstract but rather to practical knowledge of his craft. The rendering “he was full of skill, intelligence, and practical knowledge” (Gray) better expresses the correct meaning in English.

The words He came to King Solomon are to be understood in the light of the previous verse, which states that Solomon summoned Huram. Good News Translation makes this clear by saying that “He accepted King Solomon’s invitation.”

His work refers to Solomon’s work.

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 .