Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers …: The Hebrew text uses the longer forms for the names Conaniah and Shemaiah, which are “Conanyahu” and “Shemayahu.” The Masoretic Text says that Shemaiah and Nethanel were the brothers of Conaniah. Good News Translation incorrectly says that Nethanel was the brother of Shemaiah without indicating that both were brothers of Conaniah. The Hebrew noun translated brothers may mean “kinsmen” (An American Translation) here. The most natural way to understand the Hebrew text here is that Conaniah was a leader of the Levites along with two brothers and three other men. However, some understand all six men to have been brothers. New American Bible, for example, says “Conaniah and his brothers Shemaiah, Nethanel, Hashabiah, Jehiel and Jozabad, the rulers of the Levites….” In some languages it will be more natural to provide the information that these men were the chiefs of the Levites before giving their names, as Good News Translation has done.

As in the previous verse, the Masoretic Text does not have the words lambs and kids. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a rating of {A} for the Masoretic Text, but again for reasons of translation, these words may be made explicit.

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 .