For the background to verses 7-10, see 2 Sam 7.1-16 and 1 Chr 17.1-14.

Verses 7-16 are David’s words to Solomon. Within this long quotation David reports the words of God in verses 8-10. Good News Translation restructures these verses by making verse 8 an indirect quotation and then making verses 9 and 10 a direct quotation within the words of David to Solomon. Other languages may find this restructuring helpful.

David said to Solomon, “My son …: The Masoretic Text reads “And David said to Solomon his son….” If this reading is followed, then David’s direct speech to Solomon begins with the words I had it in my heart…. But the margin of the Masoretic Text contains the reading “my son” rather than “his son.” This marginal reading, which is followed by nearly all versions, is the basis for Revised Standard Version‘s rendering (also Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios).

I had it in my heart to build a house … is literally “As for me, it was with my heart to build a house….” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible preserves the emphasis of the first person pronoun in Hebrew by saying “I myself had it in my heart to build a House…” (similarly Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur). Another way of keeping this emphasis is “it was my purpose to build a house myself…” (New American Bible). In languages that have emphatic pronouns, it will certainly be fitting to use the first person singular form in this context to reflect the emphasis of the original. In the Old Testament the heart was not regarded as the seat of feelings and emotions. Depending on the context, it may refer primarily to a person’s disposition, determination, will or intention, or reason. Here it may be rendered “mind” (King James Version). I had it in my heart may be rendered simply “I wanted” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Revised English Bible says “it was my intention” (similarly Nouvelle version Segond révisée).

To the name of the LORD my God may be translated “dedicated to the Lord my God” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) or “in honor of Yahweh my God” (American Bible; similarly Good News Translation, La Bible du Semeur). A literal translation of these words in some languages may imply that David’s God (my God) was different from Solomon’s God, but the pronoun my simply emphasizes David’s personal devotion to God, not that he worshiped a different God from Solomon. If this problem exists in the receptor language, it will be acceptable to translate “our God.”

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 .

Eleazar died having no sons, but only daughters: This verse deals with the descendants of Merari’s son Mahli, and verse 23 deals with the sons of Merari’s other son, Mushi. Eleazar was a son of Mahli and a brother of Kish (verse 21).

Their kinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them: Their kinsmen is literally “their brothers” (New American Standard Bible). Since Eleazar and Kish were brothers, many translations correctly refer to their sons and daughters as “cousins” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt, Nueva Versión Internacional, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). For this whole clause Contemporary English Version says “and they [Eleazar’s daughters] married their uncle’s sons.” Bible en français courant follows the form of the Hebrew more closely by saying “and it was their cousins, the sons of Kish, who married them.” Marriage to their kinsmen was in agreement with the Law of Moses (Num 36.5-9), which guaranteed that no inheritance would be transferred from one tribe to another.

Married translates a Hebrew verb that means “to lift up” or “to take.” New American Standard Bible translates married them as “took them as wives,” supplying the implied object. Sometimes this verb has the object “wife” or “wives,” but even without an explicit object, it sometimes means “to take a wife,” as it does in this verse.

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 sons of Mushi …: Mushi was a brother of Mahli and another son of Merari (verse 26).

Jerimoth is written “Jeremoth” in 1 Chr 23.23. The spellings may be harmonized since they are two very similar forms of the same name. New Living Translation uses “Jerimoth” in both cases, while Good News Translation uses “Jeremoth” for the two occurrences.

These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses: This sentence refers to all of the above list beginning at verse 20, not just to the first half of this verse, as the paragraphing in Revised Standard Version seems to suggest. For this reason many versions begin a new paragraph here (so Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation, La Bible Pléiade, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Nueva Versión Internacional, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), which we recommend. The sons of the Levites means simply “the Levites” (Good News Translation). According to their fathers’ houses may be rendered “according to their respective families” (Bible en français courant). For this whole sentence New Century Version has “These are the Levites, listed by their families.”

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 Shelomoth and his brethren were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts: In some languages the demonstrative pronoun This cannot be used with a proper name. The purpose of this construction is to ensure that the reader understands that the person named Shelomoth in this verse is the same as the one mentioned in the previous verse. In most cases this will be clear without adding the demonstrative pronoun. His brethren here may mean “the members of his family” (Good News Translation), but more likely refers to “his kinsmen” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) or “his relatives” (New Century Version) in a broader sense.

Which David the king … had dedicated: See 1 Chr 18.7-8, 11.

The heads of the fathers’ houses refers to “the chiefs of the clans” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Good News Translation calls this group “the heads of families.” See the comments on 1 Chr 5.24.

The officers of the thousands and the hundreds and the commanders of the army: It is not clear whether these officers are (a) army officers, in addition to the commanders of the army, or whether these officers are (b) clan leaders. Good News Translation and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje consider these officers as “leaders of clan groups.” Compare also “the family leaders who led units of a thousand and a hundred” ( NET Bible). But Bible en français courant renders the end of this verse as “by the commanders of regiments and companies and by the other military leaders.” If they are army officers, then Bible en français courant correctly adds the word “other” to the last phrase. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh also does this by saying “the officers of thousands and hundreds and the other army officers.” Compare also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, which reads “by commanders of units of a hundred and of a thousand soldiers and by the officers of the army.”

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 .

David was speaking to all of the people in the previous verse, but in verses 9-10 he addresses only Solomon, so Good News Translation begins this verse with “And to Solomon he said.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente is similar with “Then David turned to Solomon.”

And you, Solomon, my son, know the God of your father: This verse begins in the Hebrew with the word weʾatah (“And you”). The Septuagint changes this word slightly to read weʿatah (“And now”), which is followed by Braun. But almost no other modern translation adopts the reading of the Septuagint, and we do not recommend it to translators. In any case, either reading serves the same effect of marking a transition. Both New American Bible and Complete Jewish Bible translate “As for you.”

The charge to know God means that Solomon should live in a personal relationship with God; that is, he should worship and serve God. The phrase the God of your father should not be understood to mean that Solomon’s God was different from David’s God. The Septuagint reads the plural “fathers” (so Braun; similarly New Living Translation, which says “ancestors”). But in this context repeated references to Solomon as my son, “your son,” and “his son” favor the reading your father here. For this whole clause Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “But you, my son Solomon, learn to know the LORD, the God of your father, better and better!” In many languages it will be more natural to translate using the first person rather than the third person for your father since it is David, Solomon’s father, who is speaking; for example, Bible en français courant translates “As for you, my son Solomon, learn to know well the God whom I serve.” Others may say “… accept the God whom I, your father, worship.” Contemporary English Version translates more dynamically and perhaps more naturally, saying “Solomon, my son, worship God … just as I have done.”

And serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind: With a whole heart is a common expression in 1–2 Chronicles (1 Chr 12.38; 29.9, 19; 2 Chr 15.17; 19.9; 25.2). It refers to complete loyalty and devotion without any distraction. Other translations include “with an undivided heart” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt) and “with a perfect heart” (New American Bible). The Hebrew may contain a play on words here since the adjective translated whole has the same consonants as the name Solomon (see also the comments on 1 Chr 22.9). The phrases a whole heart and a willing mind echo the language and thought of Deut 4.29 and 10.12. For this whole clause New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “and serve Him with single mind and fervent heart.”

For the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every plan and thought: This clause explains why Solomon should obey God completely. It is because God knows everything people think and plan. The LORD searches all hearts means he examines the minds of everyone. The Hebrew word for plan refers to intentions and the word for thought refers to thinking. These two words together referring to thinking and the motives behind such thoughts. For this whole sentence NET Bible has “for the LORD examines all minds and understands every motive of one’s thoughts.”

If you seek him, he will be found by you: Seek renders the same Hebrew verb that is translated searches. Here it means to obey the LORD (see the comments on 1 Chr 16.10-11). The passive expression he will be found by you will have to be made active in certain languages. Since the real subject (you) is clear, it will be easy to transform this clause to an active statement in most languages by saying “you will find him” (New Living Translation). However, in order to focus more on the initiative of God, some may prefer to say “he will allow you to find him.” For this whole sentence God’s Word has “If you dedicate your life to serving him, he will accept you.”

But if you forsake him, he will cast you off for ever: This sentence expresses the opposite idea of the previous one. God’s Word expresses it well with “But if you abandon him, he will reject you from then on.”

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 Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered Then is understood as a temporal connector by Revised Standard Version (similarly New American Bible with “Thereafter”). It may also be viewed as a logical connector; for example, Good News Translation, New International Version, and Revised English Bible render it “So.” But many versions omit it altogether (so New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle version Segond révisée, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). For the throne of the LORD, see the comments on 1 Chr 28.5. Good News Translation misses the nuance of the phrase of the LORD. God not only established the throne, as Good News Translation states, but it was his throne. God was the real ruler of Israel, and the king sat on the throne as God’s representative. Regarding Solomon’s succeeding David as king, see 1 Kgs 2.12.

And he prospered may be rendered “and all went well with him” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “and he was successful” (American Bible).

And all Israel obeyed him is literally “and all Israel heard him.” But even the more literal versions correctly understand this clause to mean “and all Israel obeyed him” (King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Compare “and all Israel was loyal to him” ( NET 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 .

This verse is the end of Solomon’s message to Hiram, which began in verse 3. In Hebrew verse 10 begins with the common conjunction and the focusing particle, which are rendered “And, behold” in King James Version (similarly NASB). The focusing particle is intended to concentrate Hiram’s attention, as well as the reader of the text, on what Solomon is about to say. While it is left untranslated in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, those languages that use a similar device to focus attention may wish to use it here.

I will give for your servants, the hewers who cut timber, twenty thousand cors of crushed wheat … is literally “to the hewers to the ones cutting the trees I will give crushed wheat for your servants twenty thousand cors….” This verse is restructured by Revised Standard Version and many other versions to make it sound more natural in the receptor language. Your servants, the hewers who cut timber may be translated by a single noun phrase in many languages by saying “your woodcutters” (Contemporary English Version) or “your lumbermen” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant).

The parallel text in 1 Kgs 5.11 says that Solomon gave “twenty thousand cors of wheat as food” (makkoleth in Hebrew) for Hiram’s men. Here in 2 Chr 2.10 the Hebrew does not have the word makkoleth, but it does have a word that looks similar in Hebrew letters. It is the word makkoth, which comes from the verb meaning “to strike,” or “to hit.” Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version translate the Hebrew word here as crushed. A more natural wording in English for crushed wheat is “ground wheat” (New International Version, Dillard). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text here and says the meaning is “twenty thousand cors of wheat flour.” However, some translations follow the ancient versions and the parallel text in 1 Kgs 5.11, in reading “twenty thousand cors of wheat as food” (so Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Einheitsübersetzung). It is not clear whether Good News Translation follows the ancient versions here or whether the phrase “As provisions” is added for reasons of translation rather than for textual reasons.

Weights and measures differed at different times and places in the biblical world, so there is some uncertainty among scholars today regarding the precise modern equivalents of some biblical weights and measures, such as the cor and the bath. For this reason translators will find that modern versions do not always agree, but at least the modern equivalents allow the reader to understand the approximate amounts referred to by the biblical terms. If modern equivalents are not used in the text, then an explanatory footnote will be required. The cor (sometimes spelled “kor”) was a dry measure approximately equal to 6 bushels or 220 liters (58 gallons). Some scholars calculate the cor to have been equal to 6.5 bushels, so Anchor Bible renders twenty thousand cors as “one hundred thirty thousand bushels.” Other renderings are “100,000 bushels” (Good News Translation), “2,000 tons” (Contemporary English Version), and “20,000 sacks” (Berkeley). The bath was a liquid measure approximately equal to 22 liters (6 gallons). Some modern equivalents for twenty thousand baths are “110,000 gallons” (Good News Translation), “400,000 liters” (Contemporary English Version), and “20,000 barrels” (Berkeley).

For wheat see 1 Chr 21.20; for barley see 1 Chr 11.13; for wine see 1 Chr 27.27. The oil is “olive oil,” as some versions make explicit (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Living Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Olive oil was an important part of the diet of the people of Israel. Bread was often eaten with olive oil, which took the place of butter and animal fat in the diet.

The text does not say if this was a one-time payment of food or how often the payments would be made. It has been estimated that this amount of food would have fed 6,000 to 8,000 workers for a period of three years.

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 .