Verses 3-6 consist of the message that Solomon sent to Hiram. These words are treated as a direct quotation in virtually all versions.

You know: Neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation retains the force of the emphatic second person singular pronoun You here. Use of this pronoun in Hebrew gives slightly more focus or prominence than does the use of the pronoun in English. Compare Chouraqui with “You have known, you yourself” and La Bible du Semeur with “You yourself knew.”

In most languages it is possible to say David my father or “my father David,” but one form may be somewhat more natural than the other in many languages.

A house for the name of the LORD his God: House refers to the Temple in Jerusalem. Many common language translations say “temple” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The words for the name of are a literal translation of the Hebrew, which also occurred in 1 Kgs 3.2. To speak of a person’s name often included the idea of speaking about a person’s character, reputation, or being. To build a house for the name of the LORD means to build a temple where people will be able to honor (New American Bible) or worship (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) God. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “to build a temple consecrated to the Lord his God” and Peregrino has “… in honor of the Lord, his God.” If a literal translation of the words the LORD his God would imply that Solomon’s God was a different God from the one whom David worshiped, then the receptor language will need to state this in a way that does not give such an incorrect meaning. In some cases this may mean translating it as “the LORD our God,” so that Solomon includes himself with those who worship Yahweh like his father. There is a danger in using a possessive pronoun such as his or “our” in this phrase since it may be misunderstood as indicating that God was considered the personal possession or exclusive property of the people involved. Since this is clearly not the intention of the writer, some translators may have to omit the possessive pronoun or replace his God with “God of Israel.”

Because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him is literally “because of the warfare which they surrounded him.” Revised Standard Version identifies the subject of the verb “surrounded” as his enemies. But the reference is not to enemies within David’s own country but rather to those from surrounding nations. For this reason the following renderings may be more suitable models for his enemies surrounded him: “the enemy countries all around him” (Good News Translation), “the neighboring people” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and “the armed nations surrounding him” (Revised English Bible).

Until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet: One major manuscript of the Septuagint omits the LORD, saying “until they should be put under the soles of his feet.” This reading is followed by De Vries. However, the Masoretic Text is rightly followed by nearly all modern translations here.

The expression put them under the soles of his feet is a common biblical idiom, which is found with minor differences in such passages as Josh 10.24; Psa 8.6; 1 Cor 15.25; Eph 1.22; Heb 2.8. This action symbolizes complete victory over one’s enemies. The reading in the margin of the Masoretic Text is “my feet” (so Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Jewish Publication Version) rather than his feet. According to this corrected reading, the pronoun “my” would refer to Solomon, while the pronoun his in the text refers to David. Most modern translations, however, follow the reading in the Hebrew text instead of the corrected reading in the margin.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .