Verses 32-33 present a fifth situation in which someone may turn to God in prayer. In Hebrew it begins with the common conjunction followed by the adverb that denotes the addition of something. Elsewhere this adverb is sometimes translated “also.” Together these two words are rendered Likewise in Revised Standard Version and “Moreover” in King James Version. While Good News Translation and several other modern versions do not translate these two Hebrew words, there seems to be no convincing reason to omit them since the author is specifically giving another example.
When a foreigner, who is not of thy people Israel …: The Hebrew word rendered foreigner is not the word that refers to foreigners living within Israel. The Hebrew noun here refers to someone (a non-Israelite) who lives in another country. In some cases it may be considered redundant to say that a foreigner is not of thy people Israel, so these two expressions may be combined, as Good News Translation has done. Also, the singular word foreigner is used collectively and may be better translated as a plural in many languages (so Good News Translation).
An individual who comes from a far country or those who collectively leave their own home countries are described as making the journey to the land of Israel because of what they have heard about Yahweh.
For the sake of thy great name may be rendered “because they have heard of your greatness.” The two expressions that follow, and thy mighty hand, and thy outstretched arm, refer to the mighty acts or the powerful deeds of God which have made his name famous even among non-Israelites. Some other ways of translating these three expressions are “having heard of your glorious name and the power with which you act” (Bible en français courant) and “because of your great fame, of your powerful hand and your great interventions” (La Bible des Communautés Chrétiennes).
When he comes and prays toward this house: See the comments on verse 20.
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 .