But God said to me …: God had told David that he would not be the one who would build the Temple (see 1 Chr 22.8). The common Hebrew conjunction rendered But has an obvious adversative function in this context since God’s instruction is contrary to David’s plan. So Good News Translation and other English versions also use the connector “but.”

You may not build a house for my name: This clause is a strong negative imperative in Hebrew. Many English versions begin with “You must not build…” (New Living Translation, New Century Version, God’s Word). Another way of expressing this imperative is found in Bible en français courant: “It is not you who will build….” For my name may be rendered “to honor my name” (New Living Translation) or “in my honor” (Parole de Vie). Another possible model is “where [people] will come to worship me” (Bible en français courant). For the use of name here, see the comments on 1 Chr 22.8.

For you are a warrior and have shed blood: God did not allow David to build the Temple because he had killed many men in battle, which made him ritually unclean. Shed blood is literally “shed bloods.” The point is not simply that David had killed some men in battle; but, as the plural “bloods” indicates, he had “shed much blood” (New Living Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “shed too much blood” (Good News Translation). New Century Version says simply “killed many men.” In 1 Chr 22.8 God told David that he had “shed much blood” (see the comments there).

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the two clauses of God’s words by saying “You are a warrior and have shed much blood, so you must not build a temple to honor me.”

The Hebrew quotes the words of God directly, and Revised Standard Version follows this form. Good News Translation has changed the form so that David refers to God in the third person and reports the essence of what God said rather than using a direct quotation.

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 .