And he remained with them six years: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered and serves to establish the continuity of the discourse. The pronoun he refers to Joash, but the pronoun them is ambiguous since it may refer either to (1) Jehosheba and Jehoiada the priest or to (2) Jehosheba and the nursemaid. Some versions make it explicit that the pronoun refers to the two women by saying “the princess and his nurse” (Moffatt) or “the two women” (La Bible du Semeur). Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy use a plural feminine pronoun to indicate that the two women are in view. Others avoid the difficulty by saying “his protectors” (Bible en français courant) or by leaving the words with them implied (so Good News Translation).

Hid in the house of God: The use of the Temple as a hiding place for the young prince was possible because his aunt Jehosheba was married to Jehoiada the priest. The verb hid renders a different Hebrew verb than the one translated “hid” in the previous verse, but the two verbs are synonyms and may be translated with the same word in the receptor language. The house of God may be rendered “the temple” (Contemporary English Version). Good News Translation uses only the adverb “there” because the Temple is mentioned in the preceding verse in that translation.

While Athaliah reigned over the land means that she ruled over the people of the land of Judah. In some languages it will be helpful to state this explicitly. Contemporary English Version says “while Athaliah ruled as queen of Judah.”

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 .