Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 17:12:
Kupsabiny: “He is the one who shall build for me a house where I am to be worshipped and his rulership shall be strong forever.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He will be the one to build a temple for me, And I will establish his throne forever.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He is the one-who-will-build a temple for me, and I will-make-sure that his descendants will-reign forever/[lit. until whenever].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He is the one who will arrange for a temple to be built for me. And I will enable his descendants to be kings of Israel forever.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
This verse is very similar to 1 Chr 22.10, and the same ideas are expressed in 1 Chr 28.6-7, 10.
He shall build a house for me: This clause contrasts with verse 4, where David is told that he is not the person who would build the Temple. In Hebrew the pronoun for He is emphatic. Here it may be best to translate “He will be the one to build…” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), “As for him, he will build…” (Knoppers), or “It is he who will build…” (Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). A house may be rendered “a temple” (Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).
And I will establish his throne for ever: This clause adds to what has already been said in the previous verse about making the rule of this king secure. The added element here is the expression for ever, which ensures the continuity of the dynasty beyond the life of the individual ruler. Translators should ensure that the figurative use of throne is clearly understood as referring to the dynasty. For this whole clause NET Bible says “and I will make his dynasty permanent.”
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 .
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