2 Chronicles 9:11

9:11 With the timber the king made steps ¹  for the Lord’s temple and royal palace as well as stringed instruments ²  for the musicians. No one had seen anything like them in the land of Judah prior to that. ³ )

2 Chronicles 10:14

10:14 and followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; ⁴  I will make them even heavier. ⁵  My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.” ⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “tracks.” The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10:12 has a different term whose meaning is uncertain: “supports,” perhaps “banisters” or “parapets.”

² tn Two types of stringed instruments are specifically mentioned in the Hebrew text, the כִּנּוֹר (kinnor, “zither”) and נֶבֶל (nevel, “harp”).

³ tn Heb “there was not seen like these formerly in the land of Judah.”

⁴ tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will make heavy your yoke,” but many medieval Hebrew mss and other ancient textual witnesses have, “my father made heavy your yoke.”

⁵ tn Heb “but I will add to your yoke.”

⁶ tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I [will punish you] with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound.