In 1 Chr 22.6-16 David had commanded Solomon in private to build the Temple. Now, in chapter 28, David gives public instructions regarding the construction of the Temple.

David assembled at Jerusalem …: Since this is a new section, David may be identified more fully as “King David” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). The verb assembled may be translated “brought together” or “caused to assemble.” In the Hebrew text the words at Jerusalem come at the very end of this long and complex sentence (so King James Version). However, Revised Standard Version and most other modern versions have appropriately shifted these words forward and placed them with the verb assembled for reasons of style in the receptor language.

All the officials of Israel is a general expression that includes all or some of the separate groups mentioned in the rest of this verse. Nueva Versión Internacional expresses this by beginning with “David assembled in Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, that is, the officials of the tribes….” Other translations express this same meaning through punctuation; for example, some use a colon () to show that the following list makes up all the officials of Israel by saying “David assembled in Jerusalem all the authorities of Israel: the officials of the tribes…” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Peregrino. Some use a long dash; for example, American Bible has “David summoned all the officials of Israel to Jerusalem–the tribal chiefs…” (similarly New Living Translation, God’s Word).

A number of interpreters argue for two groups in this verse: (1) all the officials of Israel and (2) all the seasoned warriors (see the comments below). If this interpretation is followed, then the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions, the commanders, the stewards, the palace officials, and the mighty men are included under the heading all the officials of Israel. The words officials, officers, commanders, and stewards all translate the same Hebrew noun, which can refer to various kinds of leaders, depending on the context. In those languages that lack synonyms of this type, a translation using the word for “chief” for all of these terms would be an accurate rendering of the Hebrew.

The officials of the tribes refers to the traditional tribal leaders (see 1 Chr 27.16-22). American Bible calls these leaders “the tribal chiefs.” The other officials were appointed by the king.

The officers of the divisions that served the king refers to the military leaders listed in 1 Chr 27.1-15. Other translations of this phrase include “the officers of the divisions that took turns serving the king” (Nueva Versión Internacional) and “the commanders of the twelve army divisions” (New Living Translation).

For the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, see the comments on 1 Chr 13.1.

The stewards of all the property and cattle of the king and his sons refers to the persons listed in 1 Chr 27.25-31. Other translations include “the overseers of the royal property and livestock” (New Living Translation) and “leaders who took care of the property and animals that belonged to the king and his sons” (New Century Version). Most versions consider both the king and his sons to be genitives of the property and cattle, that is, they express ownership of the property and cattle. But it is also possible to take his sons as another object of the verb assembled at the beginning of the verse. This second interpretation of the Hebrew grammar is followed by Braun, who renders this verse as “David assembled all the princes of Israel–the princes of the tribes … and the princes of all the king’s property and cattle, as well as his sons, with the eunuchs and the mighty men, even every warrior–to Jerusalem” (similarly New American Bible, Klein).

Palace officials translates a single Hebrew noun. Some versions say “eunuchs” (Revised English Bible, An American Translation, Moffatt, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, Nueva Versión Internacional, Osty-Trinquet, Braun). Eunuchs were castrated men who were used both domestically and politically in the service of the king. The term “eunuch” is sometimes a taboo word in receptor languages. In certain languages it may have a very negative connotation, or the practice may be completely unknown. It may be necessary either to find an appropriate euphemism or to use a descriptive phrase. However, the significance of the term in this context is not that these people were emasculated men, but that they were important officials in the royal court. For this reason most translations avoid a term that focuses on the physical aspect of their condition.

Revised Standard Version takes the Hebrew expressions translated the mighty men and all the seasoned warriors as two distinct groups. Similarly, New Century Version says “the powerful men, and all the brave warriors.” The Hebrew is more literally “the mighty men, and [or, even] every mighty man of valor.” If the second phrase is in apposition to the first one, then only one group is intended; for example, Braun has “the mighty men, even every warrior.” Compare “the warriors, including the most skilled of them” ( NET Bible) and “all the veteran soldiers of high standing” (De Vries; similarly Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). The Hebrew words for “every mighty man of valor” may also be understood as referring to people with influence or wealth. This interpretation is the basis for the following renderings: “all the … important men” (Good News Translation), “all the other most important … civil authorities” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “all the men of substance” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Klein), and “every man of standing” (American Bible).

So how many groups are included in this verse?

• (1) Some translations have one group: all his officials. For example, New Living Translation says:

David summoned all his officials to Jerusalem–the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of the twelve army divisions, the other generals and captains, the overseers of the royal property and livestock, the palace officials, the mighty men, and all the other warriors in the kingdom.

• (2) Others have two groups: (a) all the officials of Israel and (b) the palace officials, mighty men, and brave warriors. According to this understanding, the palace officials and warriors and important men were already in Jerusalem. For example, New International Version says:

David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.

• (3) Others also have two groups: (a) all the leaders of Israel and (b) the important men. For example, Klein says:

David assembled to Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel–the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of the thousands, the commanders of the hundreds, the stewards of all the property and cattle of the king, and his sons, together with the eunuchs and the mighty warriors–and all the men of substance.

All of these interpretations are possible and acceptable renderings of the Hebrew.

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 .

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly?: But renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Since there is a contrast between the greatness and power of Yahweh and the relative insignificance of David and his people, the verse should probably be introduced by a conjunction that marks contrast, such as But or “Yet” (Good News Translation). David’s question here is rhetorical. Good News Translation turns the question into a statement. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also expresses it as a statement, saying “I am nothing LORD, and my people are also nothing; from our own wealth we would not be able at all to bring you such gifts” (similarly Bible en français courant, Peregrino. Similarly, Parole de Vie says “I am nothing, and my people are nothing. We are not capable of offering these gifts to you.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Who am I and who are my people, that we should have the means to make such a freewill offering.”

For all things come from thee, and of thy own have we given thee: The reason David recognizes the insignificance of himself and his people is that everything they have comes from God. The Hebrew word rendered for is a logical connector here. Good News Translation translates it “because.” Of thy own is literally “from your hand.” Those who give to God are only giving what already belongs to him. For this reason Contemporary English Version finds it more natural to render of thy own have we given thee as “we have only given back what is already yours” (similarly Good News Translation, New Century Version).

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 .

And Solomon assigned seventy thousand men to bear burdens: Assigned is literally “counted.” The Hebrew verb here often refers to counting people or things for a specific purpose. In this context Solomon counted the workers in order to set aside certain numbers to do certain tasks. Since verses 17-18 of this chapter indicate that these workers were non-Israelites, the sense is probably that they were forced to do the work. That interpretation is the basis for other translations such as “conscripted” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible), “drafted” (God’s Word), “enrolled” (Bible en français courant), “allocated” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “put … to work” (Good News Translation).

The Hebrew word translated to bear burdens is general in that it does not indicate the content of the burden nor how the burden was carried. In fact, there is no verb in Hebrew. The text says simply “burden bearer.” In this context the meaning is probably that these 70,000 men were carrying the stones and rocks that were quarried in the hill country. Revised English Bible calls them “bearers,” and New Jerusalem Bible says they were “porters.” Most translations do not make explicit how they carried their loads, but New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says they were “basket carriers,” meaning that they carried the rocks in baskets on their backs or heads. Historical and lexical evidence support the New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translation. Contemporary English Version says “to carry building supplies,” without indicating what the supplies were. Since these men were forced to do the work, An American Translation calls them “forced laborers.” These workers were unskilled laborers.

And eighty thousand to quarry in the hill country: The Hebrew verb translated to quarry is used of cutting or digging stones out of the ground. Most translations correctly say that these 80,000 men were quarrying stone. La Bible du Semeur says they “quarried and shaped the stones.” It is possible to translate the Hebrew verbal form here as a noun, saying “stonecutters” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version) or “quarrymen” (Revised English Bible). However, some interpreters say they were “woodcutters” (An American Translation, Moffatt), although this seems unlikely. In those languages that do not have a special term for the verb quarry, New Century Version provides a possible model by saying “cut stone.” The hill country (literally “the hill/mountain”) translates a Hebrew noun that may refer to “the hills” (New Jerusalem Bible) or to “the mountains” (New American Bible). Here the reference is probably to the central hill country of Israel.

The logical order is that the 80,000 men first cut the stone out of the mountainsides, and then the 70,000 men transported these rocks to be used in Jerusalem. For this reason Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch reverses the order of the Hebrew, speaking first of the group of 80,000 and then of the group of 70,000.

And three thousand six hundred to oversee them: Other ways of referring to the task of these 3,600 men include “supervising them” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; similarly Good News Translation), “superintend them” (Revised English Bible), “foremen over them” (New International Version; similarly Moffatt), and “overseers for them” (New Jerusalem Bible; similarly New American Bible). In some languages it may be more natural to talk about the overseers before the common laborers.

The numbers 70,000, 80,000, and 3,600 add up to equal 153,600 (see verse 17). It is not clear whether all of these workers worked at the same time or whether this is the total number who did this work over a period of several years. But the sense seems to be that every single alien was forced to work on building 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 .

He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long, and twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high: Since this verse begins a new section, it may be best to translate the pronoun He as “Solomon” (Contemporary English Version) or “King Solomon” (Good News Translation). The action implied in the verb made is that Solomon ordered the altar to be made. He did not do it himself. So some versions say he “had a bronze altar made” (Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Parole de Vie communicates essentially the same meaning by saying “The workers made a bronze altar,” but this translation takes the focus off of Solomon.

For the construction of the altar of bronze used in the Tent of the LORD’s presence, see Exo 27.1-2. The altar that Solomon built was four times longer, four times wider, and about three times taller than the altar that Moses had built. The altar most likely had steps leading up to it (compare Ezek 43.13-17). The dimensions given here may represent the base of the altar, which would have included the steps. For a good description of this altar, see WTH, pages 239-240|fig:WTH.4.2.3.Temple altar.239-240.html. Since the base of the altar was the same length and width, some translations say it was “square” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). For the word bronze, see the comments on 1 Chr 15.19 and 2 Chr 1.5.

Regarding the modern equivalents of measurements in cubits, see the comments on 1 Chr 11.23 and 2 Chr 3.3. Twenty cubits corresponds to approximately 9 meters or 30 feet, and ten cubits corresponds to about 4.5 meters or 15 feet.

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 .

And he said: New Living Translation omits this clause since it ends the previous verse with the words “gave this blessing” to introduce Solomon’s speech here. Other languages may find this helpful.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel: In some languages it will not be possible to say that people Blessed God, since only God can be the subject of the verb “to bless.” It will be necessary to say “Praise be to the LORD…” (New International Version; similarly Good News Translation) or “Thanks be to the LORD…” (God’s Word). See the comments on this expression at 1 Chr 16.36.

Who with his hand has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to David, my father: See 2 Sam 7.4-11 and 1 Chr 17.3-10. The translation of this part of the verse in Revised Standard Version is closer to the form of the Hebrew than is Good News Translation, but it is not a literal translation. The Hebrew says “who spoke with his mouth to David my father, and with his hand has fulfilled,” which means the LORD fulfilled what he promised to David. The same idiomatic language occurs again in verse 15. The Hebrew noun hand is often used in the Old Testament in a figurative way for “power” or “strength.” In this context it is legitimate to translate with his hand as “by his power” or “in a powerful way.” The phrase with his mouth also does not need to be rendered literally since the meaning is that God “spoke directly” (Revised English Bible, Moffatt). New Century Version provides a helpful model for this whole part of the verse, saying “He has done what he promised to my father David,” and so does Good News Translation with “He has kept the promise he made to my father David.”

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 .

This verse contains a quotation within a quotation. Good News Translation restructures it by making the embedded quotation an indirect quotation. Good News Translation also breaks up this long Hebrew sentence into shorter sentences and brings information forward from verse 39 by saying “listen to your people’s prayers” and “hear their prayers.”

Yet renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Revised Standard Version takes verse 37 as expressing a slight contrast of the people’s behavior from their negative behavior in verse 36. New Revised Standard Version takes this conjunction as introducing a temporal transition, so it uses the connector “then.” Either interpretation is acceptable.

They lay it to heart is literally “they turn back in their heart.” The pronoun it is added by Revised Standard Version. This expression has been rendered in more idiomatic English as “they come to their senses” (New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, New Jerusalem Bible) or “they have a change of heart” (New International Version).

In the land to which they have been carried captive: See the comments on the previous verse.

Repent translates a different form of the same Hebrew rendered lay at the beginning of this verse, and the meanings of the two are very similar. New Living Translation translates them together as “they may turn to you again in repentance.”

Make supplication to thee: See the comments on verse 24.

In the land of their captivity refers to the land into which the people of Israel are taken by their captors. Good News Translation combines this phrase with in the land to which they have been carried captive, saying simply “there in that land,” since it has already been mentioned in the previous verse as the place where they are prisoners.

We have sinned, and have acted perversely and wickedly: The three verbs have sinned, have acted perversely, and [have acted] wickedly render three different Hebrew verbs. The first verb is a general term meaning “to sin.” The second verb comes from a root meaning “to twist” or “to bend.” With reference to the law, it means “to act perversely,” that is, they behave in a way that deliberately distorts what the law says they should do. The third verb means “to do wrong” or “to behave wickedly.” There does not appear to be any great distinction in meaning among the three terms, so some languages may combine them; for example, Good News Translation uses only two words, “sinful” and “wicked,” instead of three.

This embedded quotation will have to be made into indirect discourse in many languages. Good News Translation provides one possible model for doing so. But it is also possible to translate the last half of this verse as “They will be sorry and pray to you in the land where they are held as prisoners, acknowledging their sin and admitting that they have done wrong and acted wickedly.”

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 .

And Baalath …: Baalath was a city located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Jerusalem. It was in the coastal region of the territory originally given to the tribe of Dan (see Josh 19.44). The verb “built” is implied from the previous verse. Here it has the sense of “rebuilt” since this city existed before the time of Solomon. In many languages it may be better to repeat the verb here and begin a new sentence by saying “He also rebuilt the town of Baalath…” (New Century Version).

For store-cities see the comments on 2Chr 8.4.

And all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen: In English cities usually refer to large populated areas, and “towns” refer to smaller locations. In the time of Solomon these cities were relatively small, so New Revised Standard Version uses the word “towns” rather than cities. For chariots and horsemen, see the comments on 1 Chr 18.4 and 2 Chr 1.14. Since the Hebrew word for horsemen can refer to horses or charioteers, a good rendering for this whole part of the verse is “and all the towns for his chariots, horses, and charioteers.”

And whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem: Other renderings include “He built everything he desired in Jerusalem” (New Living Translation) and “Solomon had his workers build whatever he wanted in Jerusalem” (Contemporary English Version).

Lebanon: See the comments on 2 Chr 2.8.

In all the land of his dominion may be rendered “throughout all his realm” (An American Translation), “throughout his entire realm” (New Living Translation), or “in all the land submitted to his authority” (Traduction œcuménique de la 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 .

Verses 22-24 form a summary statement regarding Solomon’s great wealth and wisdom. With these words the writer shows that God’s promise in 2 Chr 1.12 has been fulfilled. Because of the nature of these verses, it may be advisable to translate the common Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse in such a way as to show that the writer is beginning a summary statement. Several versions follow Revised Standard Version in using Thus (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible). Knox has the connector “So.”

King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom: Since Solomon himself was a king, it may be helpful to render all the kings as “all the other kings” (similarly Good News Translation). Instead of directly comparing Solomon with all the other kings in the world, some languages may prefer to follow Contemporary English Version by using the superlative as follows: “Solomon was the richest and wisest king in the world.” In other languages it may be necessary to restructure the verse by saying:

• So the riches of Solomon and the wisdom of Solomon exceeded the riches and wisdom of any other ruler in the whole world.

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 .