So I provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able: This verse begins with the common Hebrew conjunction. Since verse 2 explains what David did in order to help his young and inexperienced son Solomon build the Temple, Revised Standard Version correctly translates this conjunction as So. New American Bible begins this verse with the words “For this reason.” In Hebrew the words translated so far as I was able follow immediately the introductory conjunction, but are placed after the main verb clause in Revised Standard Version. David emphasizes that he has acted to the best of his ability to help his son. Good News Translation translates these words as “I have made every effort,” New Century Version says “I have done my best,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Braun have “With all my power.”
The gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood: A literal translation here results in a heavy style in some languages, so some versions remove the repetition in Hebrew (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Regarding the meaning of the Hebrew word translated bronze, see the comments on 1 Chr 15.19.
Besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones, and marble: The precise meanings of the Hebrew terms for the stones and gems here are not certain. Rather than give specific names for them, Good News Translation translates them in terms of their function.
The Hebrew noun translated onyx follows the rendering in the Septuagint, and this is followed by many modern English versions (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). Onyx is a hard stone occurring in various colors, including red and brown. Moffatt has “beryl,” which is a hard stone occurring in various colors, including green and pink. Others say “cornelian” (Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), which is a red precious stone. The Hebrew word here is similar to the Akkadian word for a red precious stone, and that fact tends to favor the Revised English Bible rendering; but the exact kind of stone is uncertain.
Revised Standard Version takes onyx and stones for setting as two different kinds of stones. The Hebrew is literally “stones of onyx/cornelian and settings.” It is not clear whether the word “settings” refers to the settings for the onyx/cornelian or whether it refers to a second kind of stone such as inlayed stones that were placed in settings. Like Revised Standard Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “stones for setting” for the second kind of stone, while New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “inlay-stone.” Other renderings that express “settings” as a second kind of stone include “other decorative stones” (Bible en français courant), “other gems for setting” (Revised English Bible), and “other ornamental stones” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). However, other translations indicate that the “settings” were settings for the first stone mentioned. New American Bible, for example, renders onyx and stones for setting as “onyx stones and settings for them,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “cornelian for inlay work.” Either interpretation is acceptable.
The exact meaning of the Hebrew word translated antimony is uncertain. The English word antimony refers to a brittle, silver-white shiny metal. However, HALOT suggests that the Hebrew word may mean “hard mortar or cement,” which seems to be the meaning of this word in Isa 54.11. Perhaps the sense is that stones were set in cement in mosaic fashion. New International Version and New Century Version have “turquoise,” La Bible du Semeur says “shiny stones,” and Moffatt uses “jewels for inlaid work.” This same Hebrew word also means “eye makeup,” and since this makeup was usually black, some translations here say “black stones” (Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Reina-Valera revisada, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). A general translation such as “black stones” or “stones for mosaics” is probably the best solution.
Other renderings for the Hebrew word translated colored stones include “stones of diverse colors” (Bible en français courant) and “stones for mosaic work” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Revised English Bible takes this word and the preceding Hebrew noun together as “stones for mosaic work.” For both words New American Bible has “carnelian and mosaic stones,” New Jerusalem Bible says “slabs of multi-coloured mosaic,” and Koehler and Baumgartner use “colorful stones set into the mortar to form a mosaic.” The Hebrew word for colored stones usually refers to something colorfully woven, so some scholars understand it here as an embroidered cloth hanging rather than as a stone; for example, Braun has “variegated cloth.”
All sorts of precious stones may be rendered “all kinds of fine stone” (New International Version). The Hebrew noun rendered marble (also New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible) only occurs here in the Old Testament, and it is an Egyptian loanword. It refers to “alabaster” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Osty-Trinquet, Peregrino, which is a chalky stone that was imported into Israel from Egypt. A number of versions say “white marble” (New Century Version, Parole de Vie, Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible du Semeur).
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 .