Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon … rose up and rebelled against his lord: Because Jeroboam’s rebellion is contrary to the expectation of the reader, the common Hebrew conjunction here is translated Yet to mark the contrast. Other versions use the connector “But” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, God’s Word). For Jeroboam the son of Nebat, see the comments on 2 Chr 9.29. A literal translation of the word servant may be misleading. For this reason a servant of Solomon is better rendered “an official of Solomon” (New International Version) or “one of Solomon’s officers” (International Children’s Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says that Jeroboam “had been in the service of Solomon.” The two verbs rose up and rebelled refer to the same event and may be translated by a single verb as in Good News Translation and New International Version (“rebelled”) if the receptor language has problems finding synonyms. Revised English Bible translates “rose in rebellion.” His lord refers to King Solomon. New International Version expresses this phrase in modern English as “his master.”

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 .