2 Chronicles 4-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “20 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the length would have been 30 feet (9 m).
2. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “20 cubits.”
3. 2 Chronicles 4:1 tn Heb “10 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
4. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “He made the sea, cast.”sn The large bronze basin known as “The Sea” was mounted on twelve bronze bulls and contained water for the priests to bathe themselves (see v. 6; cf. Exod 30:17-21).
5. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “10 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the diameter would have been 15 feet (4.5 m).
6. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “5 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m).
7. 2 Chronicles 4:2 tn Heb “and a measuring line went around it 30 cubits all around.”
8. 2 Chronicles 4:3 tn Heb “ten every cubit.”
9. 2 Chronicles 4:3 tn Heb “rows being cast with its casting.”
10. 2 Chronicles 4:4 tn Heb “all their hindquarters were toward the inside.”
11. 2 Chronicles 4:5 tn Heb “3,000 baths” (note that the capacity is given in 1 Kings 7:26 as “2,000 baths”). A bath was a liquid measure roughly equivalent to six gallons (about 22 liters), so 3,000 baths was a quantity of about 18,000 gallons (66,000 liters).
12. 2 Chronicles 4:9 tn Heb “and the doors for the enclosure.”
13. 2 Chronicles 4:11 tn Heb “Huram,” but here this refers to Huram Abi (2 Chr 2:13). The complete name has been used in the translation to avoid possible confusion with King Huram of Tyre.
14. 2 Chronicles 4:11 tn Heb “Huram finished doing all the work which he did for King Solomon [on] the house of God.”
15. 2 Chronicles 4:12 tn The words “he made” are added for stylistic reasons.
16. 2 Chronicles 4:14 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “he made”), which probably should be emended to עֶשֶׂר (ʿeser, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
17. 2 Chronicles 4:14 tc The Hebrew text has עָשָׂה (ʿasah, “he made”), which probably should be emended to עֲשָׂרָה (ʿasarah, “ten”; see 1 Kgs 7:43).
18. 2 Chronicles 4:16 tc Some prefer to read here “bowls,” see v. 11 and 1 Kgs 7:45.
19. 2 Chronicles 4:16 tn Heb “Huram Abi made for King Solomon [for] the house of the Lord.”
20. 2 Chronicles 4:17 tn Or perhaps, “molds.”
21. 2 Chronicles 4:18 tn Heb “Solomon made all these items in great abundance so that the weight of the bronze was not sought.”
22. 2 Chronicles 4:19 tn Heb “the bread of the face/presence.”sn This bread offered to God was viewed as a perpetual offering to God. See Lev 24:5-9.
23. 2 Chronicles 5:2 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
24. 2 Chronicles 5:2 tn Heb “Then Solomon convened the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers belonging to the sons of Israel to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David (it is Zion).”
25. 2 Chronicles 5:3 sn This festival in the seventh month was the Feast of Tabernacles, see Lev 23:34.
26. 2 Chronicles 5:3 sn The seventh month would be September-October in modern reckoning.
27. 2 Chronicles 5:5 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”sn See Exod 33:7-11.
28. 2 Chronicles 5:5 tn Heb “and they carried the ark of the Lord…. The priests and the Levites carried them.”
29. 2 Chronicles 5:6 tn Heb “And King Solomon and all the assembly of Israel, those who had been gathered to him, [were] before the ark, sacrificing sheep and cattle which could not be counted or numbered because of the abundance.”
30. 2 Chronicles 5:7 tn The word “assigned” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
31. 2 Chronicles 5:8 sn These poles were used to carry the ark. The Levites were to carry it with the poles on their shoulders. See Exod 25:13-15; 1 Chr 15:15.
32. 2 Chronicles 5:9 tn Heb “they could not be seen outside.”
33. 2 Chronicles 5:10 sn Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (cf. Exod 3:1).
34. 2 Chronicles 5:10 tn Heb “in Horeb where.”
35. 2 Chronicles 5:11 tn Heb “and when the priests went from the holy place.” The syntactical relationship of this temporal clause to the following context is unclear. Perhaps the thought is completed in v. 14 after a lengthy digression.
36. 2 Chronicles 5:11 tn Heb “Indeed [or “for”] all the priests who were found consecrated themselves without guarding divisions.”
37. 2 Chronicles 5:13 tn Heb “like one were the trumpeters and the musicians, causing one voice to be heard, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, and while raising a voice with trumpets and with cymbals and with instruments of music, and while praising the Lord.”
38. 2 Chronicles 5:13 tn Heb “and the house was filled with a cloud, the house of the Lord.”
39. 2 Chronicles 5:14 tn Heb “were not able to stand to serve.”
40. 2 Chronicles 6:2 tn The words “O Lord” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but they are supplied in the translation for clarification; Solomon addresses the Lord in prayer at this point.
41. 2 Chronicles 6:3 tn Heb “turned his face.”
42. 2 Chronicles 6:3 tn Heb “and he blessed all the assembly of Israel, and all the assembly of Israel was standing.”
43. 2 Chronicles 6:4 tn The Hebrew text reads, “fulfilled by his hand,” but the phrase “by his hand” is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
44. 2 Chronicles 6:4 tn The Hebrew text reads, “promised by his mouth,” but the phrase “by his mouth” is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
45. 2 Chronicles 6:5 tn Heb “saying.”
46. 2 Chronicles 6:5 tn Heb “to build a house for my name to be there.” Here “name” is used by metonymy for the Lord himself, and thus the expression “to be there” refers to his taking up residence there (hence the translation, “a temple in which to live”). In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.
47. 2 Chronicles 6:6 tn Heb “for my name to be there.” See also the note on the word “live” in v. 5.
48. 2 Chronicles 6:7 tn Heb “and it was with the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.”sn On the significance of the Lord’s “name,” see the note on the word “live” in v. 5.
49. 2 Chronicles 6:8 tn Heb “Because it was with your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was with your heart.”
50. 2 Chronicles 6:9 tn Heb “your son, the one who came out of your body, he will build the temple for my name.”
51. 2 Chronicles 6:13 tn Heb “5 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the length would have been 7.5 feet (2.25 m).
52. 2 Chronicles 6:13 tn Heb “5 cubits.”
53. 2 Chronicles 6:13 tn Heb “3 cubits.” Assuming a cubit of 18 inches (45 cm), the height would have been 4.5 feet (1.35 m).
54. 2 Chronicles 6:14 tn Heb “said.”
55. 2 Chronicles 6:14 tn Heb “one who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.”
56. 2 Chronicles 6:14 tn Heb “who walk before you with all their heart.”
57. 2 Chronicles 6:15 tn Heb “[you] who kept to your servant David my father that which you spoke to him.”
58. 2 Chronicles 6:15 tn Heb “you spoke by your mouth and by your hand you fulfilled, as this day.”
59. 2 Chronicles 6:16 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from before me sitting on the throne of Israel.”
60. 2 Chronicles 6:16 tn Heb “guard their way by walking in my law as you have walked before me.”
61. 2 Chronicles 6:17 tn Or “prove to be reliable.”
62. 2 Chronicles 6:18 tn Heb “Indeed, can God really live with mankind on the earth?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not,” the force of which is reflected in the translation “God does not really live with mankind on the earth.”
63. 2 Chronicles 6:19 tn Heb “turn to.”
64. 2 Chronicles 6:19 tn Heb “by listening to.”
65. 2 Chronicles 6:19 tn Heb “the loud cry and the prayer.”
66. 2 Chronicles 6:19 tn Heb “praying before you.”
67. 2 Chronicles 6:20 tn Heb “so your eyes might be open toward this house night and day, toward the place about which you promised to place your name there.”
68. 2 Chronicles 6:20 tn Heb “by listening to the prayer which your servant is praying concerning this place.”
69. 2 Chronicles 6:21 tn Heb “listen to the requests of your servant and your people Israel which they are praying concerning this place.”
70. 2 Chronicles 6:21 tn Heb “hear and forgive.”
71. 2 Chronicles 6:22 tn Heb “and if the man who sins against his neighbor when one takes up against him a curse to curse him and the curse comes before your altar in this house.”
72. 2 Chronicles 6:23 tn Heb “and you, hear [from] heaven and act and judge your servants by repaying the guilty, to give his way on his head, and to declare the innocent to be innocent, to give to him according to his innocence.”
73. 2 Chronicles 6:24 tn Or “are struck down before an enemy.”
74. 2 Chronicles 6:24 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
75. 2 Chronicles 6:24 tn Heb “and they pray and ask for help.”
76. 2 Chronicles 6:25 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 31, 38).
77. 2 Chronicles 6:26 tn Heb “when.” In the Hebrew text vv. 26-27a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
78. 2 Chronicles 6:26 tn Or “heavens” (also in v. 12). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
79. 2 Chronicles 6:26 tn Heb “they.”
80. 2 Chronicles 6:26 tn Heb “confess [or perhaps, “praise”] your name.”
81. 2 Chronicles 6:26 tn The Hebrew text reads “because you answer them,” as if the verb is from עָנָה (ʿanah, “answer”). However, this reference to a divine answer is premature, since the next verse asks for God to intervene in mercy. It is better to revocalize the consonantal text as תְעַנֵּם (t^eʿannem, “you afflict them”), a Piel verb form from the homonym עָנָה (“afflict”).
82. 2 Chronicles 6:27 tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) in an emphatic or asseverative sense (“Certainly”). Other translations have “indeed” (NASB), “when” (NRSV), “so” (NEB), or leave the word untranslated (NIV).
83. 2 Chronicles 6:27 tn Heb “the good way in which they should walk.”
84. 2 Chronicles 6:27 tn Or “for an inheritance.”
85. 2 Chronicles 6:28 tn Actually two Hebrew words appear here, both of which are usually (but not always) taken as referring to locusts. Perhaps different stages of growth or different varieties are in view, but this is uncertain. NEB has “locusts new-sloughed or fully grown”; NASB has “locust or grasshopper”; NIV has “locusts or grasshoppers”; NRSV has “locust, or caterpillar.”
86. 2 Chronicles 6:28 tn Heb “in the land, his gates.”
87. 2 Chronicles 6:29 tn Heb “every prayer, every request for help which will be to all the people, to all your people Israel.”
88. 2 Chronicles 6:29 tn Heb “which they know, each his pain and his affliction.”
89. 2 Chronicles 6:30 tn The words “their sin” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification.
90. 2 Chronicles 6:30 tn Heb “and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 28-30a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
91. 2 Chronicles 6:30 tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of the sons of mankind.”
92. 2 Chronicles 6:31 tn Heb “fear.”
93. 2 Chronicles 6:31 tn Heb “by walking in your ways.”
94. 2 Chronicles 6:31 tn Heb “all the days [in] which.”
95. 2 Chronicles 6:32 tn Heb “your great name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “your great reputation”).
96. 2 Chronicles 6:32 tn Heb “and your strong hand and your outstretched arm.”
97. 2 Chronicles 6:33 tn Heb “and do all which the foreigner calls to [i.e., “requests of”] you.”
98. 2 Chronicles 6:33 tn Heb “name.” See the note on “reputation” in v. 32.
99. 2 Chronicles 6:33 tn Heb “fear.”
100. 2 Chronicles 6:33 tn Heb “that your name is called over this house which I built.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
101. 2 Chronicles 6:34 tn Heb “When your people go out for battle against their enemies in the way which you send them.”
102. 2 Chronicles 6:34 tn Heb “toward this city which you have chosen and the house which I built for your name.”
103. 2 Chronicles 6:35 tn Heb “their prayer and their request for help.”
104. 2 Chronicles 6:35 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
105. 2 Chronicles 6:36 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
106. 2 Chronicles 6:37 tn Heb “they”; the referent (God’s people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
107. 2 Chronicles 6:37 tn Or “stop and reflect”; Heb “bring back to their heart.”
108. 2 Chronicles 6:37 tn Or “done wrong.”
109. 2 Chronicles 6:38 tn Or “soul.”
110. 2 Chronicles 6:38 tn Heb “your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “your honor”).
111. 2 Chronicles 6:39 tn Heb “their prayer and their requests for help.”
112. 2 Chronicles 6:39 tn Heb “and accomplish their justice.”
113. 2 Chronicles 6:40 tn Heb “May your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayer of this place.”
114. 2 Chronicles 6:41 tn Heb “be clothed with deliverance.”
115. 2 Chronicles 6:41 tn Heb “and may your loyal ones rejoice in good.”
116. 2 Chronicles 6:42 tc Heb “do not turn away the face of your anointed ones.” Many medieval Hebrew mss, as well as the ancient versions, read the singular, “your anointed,” which would probably refer to Solomon specifically, rather than the people.
117. 2 Chronicles 7:1 tn Or “the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
118. 2 Chronicles 7:3 tn The word “saying” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
119. 2 Chronicles 7:6 tn Heb “and the priests were standing at their posts, and the Levites with the instruments of music of the Lord.”
120. 2 Chronicles 7:6 tn Heb “which David the king made to give thanks to the Lord, for lasting is his loyal love, when David praised by them.”
121. 2 Chronicles 7:6 tn Heb “opposite them”; the referent (the Levites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
122. 2 Chronicles 7:7 tc The Hebrew text omits reference to the grain offerings at this point, but note that they are included both in the list in the second half of the verse (see note on “offerings” at the end of this verse) and in the parallel account in 1 Kgs 8:64. The construction וְאֶת־הַמִּנְחָה (v^eʾet-hamminkhah; vav [ו] + accusative sign + noun with article; “grain offerings”) was probably omitted accidentally by homoioarcton. Note the וְאֶת (v^eʾet) that immediately follows.
123. 2 Chronicles 7:7 tn Heb “to hold the burnt sacrifice, the grain offering, and the fat portions.” Because this is redundant, the translation employs a summary phrase: “all these offerings.”
124. 2 Chronicles 7:8 tn Heb “Solomon held the festival at that time for seven days, and all Israel was with him, a very great assembly from Lebo Hamath to the wadi of Egypt.”
125. 2 Chronicles 7:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
126. 2 Chronicles 7:10 tn The words “they left” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
127. 2 Chronicles 7:10 tn Heb “good of heart.”
128. 2 Chronicles 7:11 tn Heb “and all that entered the heart of Solomon to do in the house of the Lord and in his house he successfully accomplished.”
129. 2 Chronicles 7:12 tn Heb “I have heard.”
130. 2 Chronicles 7:12 tn Heb “temple of sacrifice.” This means the Lord designated the temple as the place for making sacrifices, and this has been clarified in the translation.
131. 2 Chronicles 7:13 tn Or “if.”
132. 2 Chronicles 7:13 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
133. 2 Chronicles 7:13 tn Heb “the land,” which stands here by metonymy for the vegetation growing in it.
134. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tn Heb “over whom my name is called.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28.
135. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tn Heb “seek my face,” where “my face” is figurative for God’s presence and acceptance.
136. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tn Heb “and turn from their sinful ways.”
137. 2 Chronicles 7:14 tn Heb “hear.”
138. 2 Chronicles 7:14 sn Here the phrase heal their land means restore the damage done by the drought, locusts and plague mentioned in v. 13.
139. 2 Chronicles 7:15 tn Heb “my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer of this place.” Note Solomon’s request in 6:40.
140. 2 Chronicles 7:16 tn Heb “for my name to be there perpetually [or perhaps, “forever”].”
141. 2 Chronicles 7:16 tn Heb “and my eyes and my heart will be there all the days.”
142. 2 Chronicles 7:17 tn Heb “As for you, if you walk before me, as David your father walked, by doing all which I commanded you, [and] you keep my rules and my regulations.”sn Verse 17 is actually a lengthy protasis (“if” section) of a conditional sentence, the apodosis (“then” section) of which appears in v. 18.
143. 2 Chronicles 7:18 tn Heb “I will establish the throne of your kingdom.”
144. 2 Chronicles 7:18 tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man ruling over Israel.”
145. 2 Chronicles 7:19 tn The Hebrew pronoun is plural, suggesting that Solomon and all Israel (or perhaps Solomon and his successors) are in view. To convey this to the English reader, the translation “you people” has been employed.
146. 2 Chronicles 7:19 tn Heb “which I placed before you.”
147. 2 Chronicles 7:19 tn Heb “and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
148. 2 Chronicles 7:20 tn Heb “them.” The switch from the second to the third person pronoun is rhetorically effective, for it mirrors God’s rejection of his people—he has stopped addressing them as “you” and begun addressing them as “them.” However, the switch is awkward and confusing in English, so the translation maintains the direct address style.
149. 2 Chronicles 7:20 tn Heb “them.” See the note on “you” earlier in this verse.
150. 2 Chronicles 7:20 tc Instead of “I will throw away,” the parallel text in 1 Kgs 9:7 has “I will send away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.tn Heb “and this temple which I consecrated for my name I will throw away from before my face.”
151. 2 Chronicles 7:20 tn Heb “him,” which appears in context to refer to Israel (i.e., “you” in direct address). Many translations understand the direct object of the verb “make” to be the temple (NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “it”).
152. 2 Chronicles 7:20 tn Heb “and I will make him [i.e., Israel] a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.
153. 2 Chronicles 7:21 tn Heb “and this house which was high/elevated.” The statement makes little sense in this context, which predicts the desolation that judgment will bring. Some treat the clause as concessive, “Even though this temple is lofty [now].” Others, following the lead of several ancient versions, emend the text to, “this temple will become a heap of ruins.”
154. 2 Chronicles 7:22 tn Heb “and they will say.”
155. 2 Chronicles 7:22 tn Heb “fathers.”
156. 2 Chronicles 7:22 tn Heb “and they took hold of other gods and bowed down to them and served them.”
157. 2 Chronicles 8:2 tn Heb “Huram” (also in v. 18). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
158. 2 Chronicles 8:5 tn Heb “and he built…[as] cities of fortification, [with] walls, doors, and a bar.”
159. 2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name is unexpected in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
160. 2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “the cities of the chariots and the cities of the horses.”
161. 2 Chronicles 8:6 tn Heb “and all the desire of Solomon which he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his kingdom.”
162. 2 Chronicles 8:7 tn Heb “all the people who were left from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not from Israel.”
163. 2 Chronicles 8:8 tn Heb “from their sons who were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel did not wipe out, and Solomon raised them up for a work crew to this day.”
164. 2 Chronicles 8:9 tn Heb “and from the sons of Israel whom Solomon did not assign to the laborers for his work.”
165. 2 Chronicles 8:9 tn Heb “officers of his chariots and his horses.”
166. 2 Chronicles 8:10 tn Heb “these [were] the officials of the governors who belonged to the king, Solomon, 250, the ones ruling over the people.”
167. 2 Chronicles 8:11 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
168. 2 Chronicles 8:12 tn Heb “the porch.”
169. 2 Chronicles 8:13 tn The Hebrew phrase הַסֻּכּוֹת[חַג] (khag hassukkot, “[Feast of] shelters” [or “huts”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “shelters” is more appropriate.
170. 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Solomon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
171. 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “and the Levites, according to their posts, to praise and to serve opposite the priests according to the matter of a day in its day.”
172. 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “and the gatekeepers by their divisions for a gate and a gate.”
173. 2 Chronicles 8:14 tn Heb “for so [was] the command of David the man of God.”
174. 2 Chronicles 8:15 tn Heb “and they did not turn aside from the command of the king concerning the priests and the Levites with regard to any matter and with regard to the treasuries.”
175. 2 Chronicles 8:18 tn Heb “and Huram sent to him by the hand of his servants, ships, and servants [who] know the sea, and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir.”
176. 2 Chronicles 8:18 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 30,285 lbs. (13,770 kg).
177. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “the report about Solomon.”
178. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “test.”
179. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “Solomon.” The recurrence of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style, so the pronoun has been used in the translation instead.
180. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “riddles.”
181. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Heb “with very great strength.” The Hebrew word חַיִל (khayil, “strength”) may refer here to the size of her retinue or to the great wealth she brought with her.
182. 2 Chronicles 9:1 tn Or “balsam oil.”
183. 2 Chronicles 9:2 tn Heb “Solomon declared to her all her words; there was not a word hidden from the king which he did not declare to her.” If riddles are specifically in view (see v. 1), then one might translate, “Solomon explained to her all her riddles; there was no riddle too complex for the king.”
184. 2 Chronicles 9:3 tn Heb “house.”
185. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Heb “the food on his table.”
186. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Heb “the seating of his servants and the standing of his attendants.”
187. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tc The Hebrew text has here, “and his upper room [by] which he was going up to the house of the Lord.” But עֲלִיָּתוֹ (ʿaliyyato, “his upper room”) should be emended to עֹלָתוֹ, (ʿolato, “his burnt sacrifice[s]”). See the parallel account in 1 Kgs 10:5.
188. 2 Chronicles 9:4 tn Or “it took her breath away”; Heb “there was no breath still in her.”
189. 2 Chronicles 9:5 tn Heb “about your words [or perhaps, “deeds”] and your wisdom.”
190. 2 Chronicles 9:6 tn Heb “the half was not told to me.”
191. 2 Chronicles 9:7 tn Heb “How happy are your men! How happy are these servants of yours, who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom!”
192. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Or “delighted in.”
193. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “as king for the Lord your God.”
194. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “to make him stand permanently.”
195. 2 Chronicles 9:8 tn Heb “to do justice and righteousness.”
196. 2 Chronicles 9:9 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold was 8,076 lbs. (3,672 kg).
197. 2 Chronicles 9:9 tn Heb “there has not been like those spices which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
198. 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “Huram’s” (also in v. 21). Some medieval Hebrew mss, along with the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate spell the name “Hiram,” agreeing with 1 Chr 14:1. “Huram” is a variant spelling referring to the same individual.
199. 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “who brought gold from Ophir, brought.”
200. 2 Chronicles 9:10 tn Heb “algum.”
201. 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”
202. 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).
203. 2 Chronicles 9:11 tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”
204. 2 Chronicles 9:12 tn Heb “besides what she brought to the king.”
205. 2 Chronicles 9:12 tn Heb “turned and went.”
206. 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the weight of the gold Solomon received annually was 44,822 lbs. (20,380 kg).
207. 2 Chronicles 9:13 tn Heb “the weight of the gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold.”
208. 2 Chronicles 9:14 tn Heb “traveling men.”
209. 2 Chronicles 9:15 tn The Hebrew text has simply “600,” with no unit of measure given.
210. 2 Chronicles 9:16 tn The Hebrew text has simply “300,” with no unit of measure given.
211. 2 Chronicles 9:16 sn This name was appropriate because of the large amount of cedar, undoubtedly brought from Lebanon, used in its construction. The cedar pillars in the palace must have given it the appearance of a forest. See 1 Kgs 7:2.
212. 2 Chronicles 9:18 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:19 has instead “and the back of it was rounded on top.”
213. 2 Chronicles 9:18 tn Heb “[There were] armrests on each side of the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests.”
214. 2 Chronicles 9:19 tn Heb “nothing like it had been made for any kingdom.”
215. 2 Chronicles 9:20 tn Heb “there was no silver regarded as anything in the days of Solomon.”
216. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “for ships belonging to the king were going [to] Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.
217. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “servants.”
218. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the fleet of Tarshish [ships].”
219. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish came carrying.”
220. 2 Chronicles 9:21 tn The meaning of this word is unclear; some suggest it refers to “baboons.” NEB has “monkeys,” NASB, NRSV “peacocks,” and NIV “baboons.”
221. 2 Chronicles 9:22 tn Heb “King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth with respect to wealth and wisdom.”
222. 2 Chronicles 9:23 tn Heb “and all the kings of the earth were seeking the face of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had placed in his heart.”
223. 2 Chronicles 9:24 tn Heb “and they were bringing each one his gift, items of silver…and mules, the matter of a year in a year.”
224. 2 Chronicles 9:25 tc The parallel text of 1 Kgs 10:26 reads “fourteen hundred chariots.”
225. 2 Chronicles 9:25 tn Heb “he placed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.”
226. 2 Chronicles 9:26 tn Heb “the River.” In biblical Hebrew the Euphrates River was typically referred to simply as “the River.”
227. 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn The words “as plentiful” are supplied for clarification.
228. 2 Chronicles 9:27 tn Heb “he made cedar.”
229. 2 Chronicles 9:27 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, sh^ephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
230. 2 Chronicles 9:29 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Solomon, the former and the latter, are they not written?”
231. 2 Chronicles 9:31 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”