Revised Standard Version preserves the form of the Hebrew in which David addresses the people in the second person plural at the beginning of the verse and then switches to the third person at the end of the verse, his people. In order to avoid confusion for the English reader, Good News Translation maintains the second person throughout the entire verse.

Good News Translation adds “He said” at the beginning of this verse for clarity and for reasons of English style. This quote frame introduces David’s words to the leaders of Israel. Contemporary English Version is similar with “David said,” and so is NET Bible with “He told them.”

Is not the LORD your God with you?: David is not really asking a question here, but he is actually affirming God’s presence (compare verse 11). This rhetorical question may be rendered as a statement (so Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version).

And has he not given you peace on every side?: This is another rhetorical question that may be rendered as a statement (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version). Revised Standard Version uses the past tense here (also Good News Translation, Nueva Versión Internacional). However, other versions use the future tense; for example, Revised English Bible has “Will he not give you peace on every side?” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “and He will give you rest on every side.” Peace is literally “rest” as in verse 9. The language of “rest” from Israel’s enemies reminds the reader of passages such as Deut 12.10 and Josh 21.44. On every side may refer to the surrounding countries and be translated “on all your borders” (La Bible du Semeur) or “with the surrounding nations” (New Living Translation). But since the next sentence refers to people who used to live in Israel, this phrase probably does not include foreign countries.

For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand: The Hebrew word translated land sometimes refers to the “earth,” but the context here excludes such a broad reference. The phrase the inhabitants of the land may be interpreted in at least two different ways: (1) Perhaps David is referring to all those who lived in the land of Canaan before the Israelites came. This seems to be the sense of Good News Translation, which says “the people who used to live in this land” (similarly Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur). (2) It is also possible that the Hebrew phrase here refers to “the surrounding nations” (New Living Translation) or “the inhabitants of the region” ( NET Bible, Nueva Versión Internacional). Into my hand may be rendered “into my power” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Nueva Versión Internacional, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

And the land is subdued before the LORD and his people: The Hebrew verb rendered is subdued often expresses the idea of excessive use of power. It is used of subduing nations as well as of subduing or violating a woman (Est 7.8). Since this is a passive verb, many languages will require an active form. Other translations include “lies conquered” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “is subject” (New International Version). New Century Version turns this sentence around and renders it more dynamically, saying “The LORD and his people are in control of this land.” In this context his people could also be understood to mean “his army.” Good News Translation renders his people as “you” since David is addressing their leaders. Good News Translation maintains second person for the Israelite leaders throughout this verse in order to avoid confusion for the English reader.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

As for the divisions of the gatekeepers …: Verses 1-9 list the gatekeepers who were descendants of Korah. Two major groups within the clan of Korah are listed, represented by Meshelemiah and Obed Edom (but see the comments regarding Obed Edom’s genealogy in 1 Chr 26.4). For gatekeepers see the comments on 1 Chr 9.17. Revised English Bible says “door-keepers.” Good News Translation has made it explicit that these gatekeepers were Levites and that they were guards at the Temple.

The Korahites refers to descendants of Korah. According to Num 16.1, Korah was a descendant of Kohath, one of Levi’s sons. Meshelemiah is called “Shelemiah” in verse 14 (see the comments there). This may be a variant of the name “Shallum” in 1 Chr 9.17 (see also Ezra 2.42; Neh 7.45). Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, as well as nearly all other versions, read Meshelemiah as in 1 Chr 9.21, even though in the Hebrew text the name here, and in verses 2 and 9, is “Meshelemyahu” (La Bible du Semeur, La Bible Pléiade, Chouraqui).

Asaph was the leader of one of the groups of Temple singers and was a descendant of Gershon, another of Levi’s sons (see 1 Chr 6.39-43). So the name Asaph is surprising here since (1) he was a descendant of Gershon and not of Kohath, and (2) according to 1 Chr 9.19, Kore was the son of Ebiasaph (see also Exo 6.24). This difficulty is removed in the Septuagint, which has a corrupted form of the name “Ebiasaph” here instead of Asaph. According to 1 Chr 6.23 and 37-38, Ebiasaph, not Asaph, was a descendant of Korah. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends that the Masoretic Text here be corrected to read “Ebiasaph” instead of Asaph and gives a {C} rating to the recommended reading. A number of versions correct the Masoretic Text here to read “Ebiasaph” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Osty-Trinquet) or “Abiasaph” (New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Such a correction brings the genealogy in line with 9.19 and Exo 6.24. It is also possible that Asaph is simply an abbreviated form of the name “Ebiasaph,” but in any case, this Asaph is not the same person as the Temple musician named Asaph.

Bible en français courant provides a helpful model for expressing the meaning of this verse and the beginning of the next one, saying “1 The gatekeepers also formed groups. Meshelemiah, son of Kore and grandson of Abiasaph, from the clan of Kore 2 had seven sons…” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Asahel (verse 7), who is mentioned in 1 Chr 11.26, was killed before David became king of the whole country (see 2 Sam 2.18-23), and his son took his place.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Then David said to Solomon his son: Since David had already told Solomon to “be strong, and do it” (verse 10), Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch begins this verse with “Once more David said to his son Solomon.” Since Solomon has already been identified in this section as David’s son, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy omits the words his son here.

Be strong and of good courage, and do it: See the comments on verse 10 and 1 Chr 22.13.

For the LORD God, even my God, is with you: See the comments on 1 Chr 17.2.

Fear not, be not dismayed: See the comments on 1 Chr 22.13.

He will not fail you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished: Compare Deut 31.6, 8. The word until does not imply that God will forsake Solomon once the Temple has been built. Since the word until may convey incorrect meaning, New Living Translation provides a better model here with “He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also expresses the correct meaning with “He will not forsake you and will not leave you in the lurch, but he will help you to complete all this work on his Temple.” Yet another possible model is “He will be with you throughout the entire project of building the Temple. He will never leave you or fail to help you.” All the work for the service of the house of the LORD refers to the work of building the Temple. In verse 13 and 1 Chr 9.13, a similar expression refers to the rituals of worship rather than the building of the Temple.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Moreover the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, had made, was there before the tabernacle of the LORD: Moreover (also New Revised Standard Version, King James Version) translates the common Hebrew conjunction, which many other versions leave untranslated here (so New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, La Bible du Semeur). Revised Standard Version uses the conjunction Moreover here since the writer is stating that the bronze altar as well as the Tabernacle was still in Gibeon. Revised English Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh express it with the adverb “also.” Translations such as “Now” (NASB) and “But” (New Living Translation, Bible en français courant) do not seem to fit the context as well. The bronze altar was not the incense altar within the Tabernacle, but the altar for burnt offerings which was located in the middle of the courtyard in front of the Tabernacle (see the comments on 1 Chr 6.49). Bronze was a metal alloy consisting mostly of copper. The copper was mixed with another metal, usually tin, but sometimes with silver or lead. The bronze was almost twice as hard as copper alone. For the translation of the word bronze, see the comments on 1 Chr 15.19. According to Exo 27.1-2, this altar was made of acacia wood and covered with bronze.

The work of Bezalel is described in Exo 31.1-5 and 35.30–36.1. The son of Uri, son of Hur may be rendered “the son of Uri and the grandson of Hur” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Contemporary English Version omits these words in the text but includes them in a footnote. Such a shortening of the text is not recommended since the ancestors of Bezalel have not been mentioned previously in 2 Chronicles. For Bezalel … had made, Good News Translation uses the passive expression “had been made by Bezalel”; but in many languages where passive forms are rare or unknown, the form of the Hebrew will be followed here.

The adverb there refers to Gibeon, as in verses 3 and 6. In some languages the meaning may be much clearer if this is made explicit by saying “in/at Gibeon” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Revised English Bible). Some Hebrew manuscripts have “he put” (sam) instead of there (sham). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament states that it is impossible to know for sure which reading is original, but since the textual evidence is better for the adverb there, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament expresses a slight preference for this reading, giving it a {D} rating. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the reading “he [David] put” was a theological correction made in order to place Solomon’s activity in verses 7-12 in Jerusalem. According to Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament‘s understanding of the correction, verse 4 says David had brought up the ark from Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem and had set up a tent for it, and verse 5 says David had also put the bronze altar in Jerusalem. The purpose of such a change was to show that Solomon offered sacrifices in Jerusalem (see the comments on verse 13 also). Most versions agree with the recommendation of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament that the original text read there (referring to Gibeon), but some follow the reading “he put” (with David as the subject). New American Bible, for example, renders the first sentence of this verse as “The bronze altar made by Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, he put in front of the LORD’s Dwelling on the high place.” But the New American Bible rendering keeps this event in Gibeon rather than in Jerusalem at a later time.

And Solomon and the assembly sought the LORD: For the assembly, see the comments on 2Chr 1.3. This phrase may be rendered “all the people” (Good News Translation) or “all the people who had gathered.” Sought the LORD is literally “sought it/him.” The Hebrew text does not have the LORD. Rather, there is only a singular pronoun, which may be understood as referring either to the altar or to Yahweh. Because of this ambiguity in the Hebrew text, New Revised Standard Version says “inquired at it,” indicating that they inquired at the altar. Other versions that follow this interpretation are Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy. But many versions take the pronoun as referring to Yahweh (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, El libro del Pueblo de Dios). Either interpretation is possible and acceptable. Translators must simply choose one meaning unless the receptor language allows for the same ambiguity as the Hebrew.

Since the verb sought may be misunderstood in the sense of looking for something that is lost, a different verb should probably be used in many languages. However, the verb chosen will be determined by the way in which the pronoun is interpreted. If the pronoun is taken as referring to Yahweh, then the verb may be “consulted” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant) or “worshiped” (Good News Translation, New Century Version). This interpretation is preferable, since 1-2 Chronicles often speaks of “seeking the LORD” or “seeking God.” However, if the pronoun is taken as referring to the altar, then it will be better to say “resorted to” (Revised English Bible) or “inquired at” (New Revised Standard Version).

Contemporary English Version combines and restructures verses 2-5 to give the background information first. Contemporary English Version has made a number of exegetical decisions about the meaning of various phrases and clauses in these verses which may be different from the decisions made by translators working on these verses, but it may be a helpful model for some languages. Its rendering for these verses is:

• At that time, the sacred tent that Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the desert was still kept at Gibeon, and in front of the tent was the bronze altar that Bezalel* had made.
One day, Solomon told the people of Israel, the army commanders, the officials, and the family leaders, to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon, even though his father King David had already moved the sacred chest from Kiriath-Jearim to the tent that he had set up for it in Jerusalem. Solomon and the others went to Gibeon to worship the LORD….
*Bezalel: Hebrew “Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house: In the Masoretic Text this clause is literally “And the vestibule, which [was] in/on front of the length on front of the width of the house, [was] twenty cubits.” The intended meaning is not clear, and almost certainly the existing text is the result of a scribal error in copying the text. As it stands, the uncorrected Masoretic Text may mean that the vestibule was 20 cubits long, corresponding to the width of the Temple, which was 20 cubits wide. But most interpreters understand the sense to be that the width of the vestibule was 20 cubits, with no mention of the length of the vestibule. Compare New Revised Standard Version, which says “The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, across the width of the house.” New Jerusalem Bible is similar with “and the portico in front of the house was the full width of the house, that is, twenty cubits,” and so is Berkeley with “The porch at the front end of the house reached across the 30-foot width of the house.” Based on this interpretation, Contemporary English Version is a good model: “Across the front of the temple was a porch thirty feet wide” (similarly Good News Translation). If the metric system is being used in the receptor language, twenty cubits would be rendered “9 meters” (GNT British edition, Nueva Versión Internacional, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).

The variety of renderings in modern versions reflect the difficulty of knowing what the author intended. Scholars have proposed various changes to the Hebrew text, including the following:

• (1) Revised Standard Version has added the words of the nave of the house in order to make sense of the text.

• (2) Other scholars have corrected the text here to read “and the vestibule in front of the house was ten cubits deep and its length was twenty cubits, equal to the width of the house” (so Peregrino. This correction gives both the length and width of the vestibule and makes the text agree with 1 Kgs 6.3, which states that the vestibule was 20 cubits wide and extended 10 cubits in front of the nave.

• (3) Other translations, such as Revised English Bible, are based on a slightly different correction of the Masoretic Text here, reading “The vestibule in front of the house was twenty cubits long, spanning the whole breadth of the house” (similarly New American Bible).

• (4) Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the vowels in the Hebrew expression for “in front of” should be changed to read as an adverb, with the following translation: “the vestibule which was in front: its length, which was equal to the width of the house, was twenty cubits.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text with the proposed change in vowels.

For vestibule see the comments on 1 Chr 28.11. Other translations include “porch” (New Century Version, King James Version, New American Bible), “portico” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “entrance room” (Good News Translation). Osty-Trinquet transliterates the Hebrew term for vestibule as “Ulam,” but translators should render the Hebrew word with a meaningful term in the receptor language rather than use a word that will have no significance to their readers. The vestibule apparently served as an open-air forecourt through which the priests passed in order to enter the nave of the Temple. The information in the biblical texts is insufficient to determine whether or not this vestibule had a roof. In light of this uncertainty, it is better not to speak about a roof as New Living Translation does.

For the meaning of the word nave, see the introductory comments on this section. This word does not actually occur in the Hebrew text here; it is added by Revised Standard Version in an attempt to make sense of the Masoretic Text. In the next verse Good News Translation translates the Hebrew word for nave as “main room.” Revised English Bible has “large chamber,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “Great Hall.”

Equal to the width of the house means the vestibule was the same width as the Temple itself, which is given as 20 cubits in the previous verse. This information may be expressed as “was the full width of the Temple” (Good News Translation) or “was … wide, as was the Temple” (La Bible du Semeur).

And the height was a hundred and twenty cubits is literally “and the height [was] one hundred and twenty.” Revised Standard Version has added the word cubits as the sense requires. The vestibule was a hundred and twenty cubits high, which is equivalent to about 54 meters (180 feet). This figure differs from the parallel account in 1 Kings, and some ancient translations of this verse in 2 Chronicles also differ from the reading in the Masoretic Text. According to 1 Kgs 6.2, it was only 30 cubits (about 13.5 meters or 45 feet) high. Moreover, some manuscripts of the Septuagint and the ancient Syriac here say that the height was 20 cubits. This is the basis for those translations that say that the height was “thirty feet” (Contemporary English Version, NET Bible), “twenty cubits” (New International Version, Einheitsübersetzung, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous), “nine meters” (Nueva Versión Internacional), or “ten meters” (La Bible du Semeur, Peregrino. In Hebrew the words for cubits (ʾammoth) and “hundred” (meʾah) are similar, and it is possible that a scribe mistakenly wrote “hundred” instead of “cubits.” It is also possible that the author exaggerated the height in order to make the Temple even more impressive in appearance. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament argues that the textual and historical evidence support the reading a hundred and twenty cubits, and gives a {B} rating to the reading of the Masoretic Text.

According to the Revised Standard Version translation, it was only the vestibule that was 120 cubits tall. But it is possible that the author intended the 120 cubits to refer to the height of the entire Temple. Nowhere else does the author indicate the height of the Temple.

He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold: Most interpreters understand the Hebrew verb for overlaid to mean that the inside of the vestibule was completely covered with gold. However, in verse 6 the same verb is rendered “adorned,” where it means “to stud,” that is, “to inlay.” Therefore some interpreters think that the sense here in verse 4, as in verse 6, is that the entire inside of the room was inlaid with gold leaf in the designs of palm trees and chains, not that the inside was completely covered with gold leaf. The parallel passage in 1 Kgs 6.3 does not indicate that the vestibule was overlaid with gold. So some interpreters think that this last sentence in verse 4 is an introduction to the following verses that refer to the nave rather than to the vestibule.

The Hebrew has only the pronoun He as the subject of the verb overlaid, but the reference is clearly to Solomon. Of course the king did not actually do the work himself, but rather he had it done by others. For this reason some languages will have to use a causative verb similar as in Parole de Vie, which says “Solomon had all the interior covered with pure gold.”

For pure gold, see the comments on 1 Chr 28.17.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The Hebrew word for flowers is actually singular, but undoubtedly has a collective meaning. It is therefore appropriate to translate it as a plural. This word refers to the flower-shaped ornaments on the lampstands (see Exo 25.31, 33). In order to make it clear that these were not real flowers, translators may wish to specify “gold flowers,” “pure gold flower-shaped ornaments” ( NET Bible), or “flower decorations made of gold.” New International Version says “the gold floral work.”

There is some confusion between the tongs in this verse and the “snuffers” in the following verse, so the two items should be treated together. See the comments on “snuffers” in verse 22.

Of purest gold is literally “gold it was perfection of gold.” This phrase is omitted by Good News Translation because the idea of gold is repeated in the next verse in the Hebrew text. The meaning of the Hebrew word translated purest is uncertain. It may refer to purity or solidity (so New International Version and Revised English Bible, which speak of “solid gold”). Either option is acceptable. The punctuation in Revised Standard Version suggests that the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs were all of purest gold. Other translations connect the words of purest gold only to the tongs (so Revised English Bible).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .