The Hebrew conjunction rendered For introduces the reason why David divided the Levites into divisions. God was going to live forever in Jerusalem and would no longer live in the tent that was moved from place to place (verse 26), so the Levites needed to be organized into groups that took turns serving at the Temple.

David said …: Many versions include all of verses 25-26 and 28-32 as words of David (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). However, it is possible to understand only verses 25-26 as David’s words (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios). Verse 27 is clearly the writer’s comment and not a part of David’s speech. New American Bible, in fact, places verse 27 immediately after verse 24, and this may be a good model in other languages if the flow of the narrative will be more logical and clear (see the comments on the previous verse). The text does not say to whom David said these things. As elsewhere in the Old Testament, the sense may be that David “thought,” that is, “said to himself.”

The LORD, the God of Israel, has given peace to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem for ever: For peace, which is literally “rest,” see the comments on 1 Chr 22.9 and 18. In the Hebrew text these two clauses may be understood to mean “… has given peace to his people, and he [that is, his people] dwells in Jerusalem for ever.” According to this alternative interpretation, Jerusalem is used to designate the country of Israel as a whole. Compare “The LORD God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever” (King James Version). But the content of the following verse makes this interpretation unlikely, so the subject of the third person singular verb dwells (literally “tents”) in Hebrew should be understood as The LORD.

Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders this whole verse as “Because David had said, ‘The LORD, the God of Israel, has provided his people peace, so that they can live here permanently, and also he himself has taken residence in Jerusalem for all time.’” A footnote states that the clause “so that they can live here permanently” was added to the translation to clarify the meaning.

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 .