Then Solomon said: Verse 1b may be understood as words that Solomon spoke to himself. If so, then Solomon’s prayer to God begins in verse 2 (so NET Bible). Other translations understand verse 1b as the beginning of Solomon’s prayer. Since verse 2 makes clear that Solomon is talking to God and not to human beings, some of these translations introduce the direct quotation of verses 1b-2 with the verb “prayed” instead of said (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation).
The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness: This line refers to Lev 16.2. In the Masoretic Text the parallel text in 1 Kgs 8.12 agrees with the wording here. However, the Septuagint text of 1 Kgs 8.12 has a longer reading (beginning with the words “The LORD has set the sun in the heavens”), which is followed by Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, and several other translations of 1 Kgs 8.12. Some versions harmonize the text here in 2 Chronicles with that of the Septuagint in 1 Kings by following the longer text (so Revised English Bible, Moffatt). Revised English Bible, for example, says “The LORD has caused the sun to shine in the heavens; but he has said he would dwell in thick darkness.”
The Most Holy Place had no windows; no natural light penetrated it except when the curtain was drawn back. While darkness may be said to be thick in English, the term used in other languages may be quite different. In fact, the Hebrew has a single word for thick darkness, which refers to “obscurity” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). The idea is “an obscure place” (La Bible du Semeur) or simply “a very dark place.” The same expression is found in Exo 20.21. It may be translated “a/the dark cloud” (New International Version, New Century Version, New American Bible).
Good News Translation, which takes this line as part of Solomon’s prayer, has changed the third person references to the LORD to second person by saying “LORD, you have chosen to live in clouds and darkness” (similarly Parole de Vie). Good News Bible does this because the Hebrew uses the second person for the LORD in the rest of the prayer in the following verse. Translators must decide whether it will be confusing to readers in the receptor language to shift from third person to second person in speaking to God. In addition to the question about shifting pronouns, translators must also ask themselves whether it is natural in their language to use the third person in prayers to 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 .