So Joash king of Israel went up: The common Hebrew conjunction is properly rendered So because what follows is the logical consequence of God’s decision to make Amaziah refuse Jehoash’s advice. The notion of upward movement in the verb phrase went up is not essential to the meaning, so it may be rendered “attacked” (New International Version, God’s Word), “advanced” (New American Bible), or simply “went.”

And he and Amaziah faced one another in battle …: Faced one another in battle is literally “saw each other’s faces.” This is the same expression as in verse 17. Here it may be rendered “met in battle” (New American Bible) or “clashed” (Revised English Bible).

At Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah: Four different towns are referred to in the Old Testament by the name Beth-shemesh. Two were in the territory of the northern tribes of Issachar (Josh 19.22) and Naphtali (Josh 19.38), and the third was in Egypt (Jer 43.13; called “Heliopolis” in Revised Standard Version). The Beth-shemesh mentioned here was a town on the northwest border of Judah (see Josh 15.10; 21.16). Originally it was in the territory of the tribe of Dan and also called Ir-Shemesh (Josh 19.41). It was about 24 kilometers (15 miles) west of Jerusalem. The writer underlines the fact that this town was within the realm of Judah. Most battles in the Old Testament between the northern and southern kingdoms took place further north in the hill country.

The context makes it clear that Amaziah and Jehoash did not go alone to battle. Rather, they both went with their armies. This may be made explicit in translation, as New Living Translation has done by rendering the whole verse as follows:

• So King Jehoash of Israel mobilized his army against King Amaziah of Judah. The two armies drew up their battle lines at Beth-shemesh in 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 .