Under their command was an army … is literally “And under their hand was an army force….” The pronoun their refers to the family leaders mentioned in the previous verse. They commanded Uzziah’s army.

Who could make war with mighty power: The Judean soldiers were an effective fighting force. Moffatt calls them “sturdy fighters,” and God’s Word says “They were a powerful force.”

To help the king against the enemy: The Hebrew word rendered the enemy is singular but the reference is not to a single specific enemy. Rather, the sense is “the persons or nations who are enemies of the king.” For this reason Good News Translation says “his enemies” (similarly Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

The structure of this verse may be awkward if translated literally into other languages because it begins with a prepositional phrase. An alternative model is:

• The army they commanded included 307,500 men, all of them choice troops. They were available to help the king against all his enemies.

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 .

And Uzziah prepared for all the army …: In this context the Hebrew verb translated prepared is better rendered “provided” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “distributed” (La Bible du Semeur), or simply “gave” (New Century Version). The Hebrew does not mean that Uzziah made the military items listed here.

The Hebrew word for shields refers to smaller shields, as in 1 Chr 5.18 and 2 Chr 9.16 (see the comments there).

For spears see the comments on 1 Chr 11.11.

Helmets were worn to protect the heads of soldiers and were often made of leather but some were also made of metal.

Coats of mail, also called “coats of armor” (Good News Translation), were made of small metal plates that were sewn or tied together in fishlike scales. They covered the chests and backs of soldiers. They were heavy and awkward, but they protected soldiers against enemy arrows.

Bows were about 1-2 meters (3-6 feet) long and were usually made of wood, animal horn, and sinew. Wooden arrows with stone or metal arrowheads could be shot a distance of 160-180 meters (175-200 yards). For a good discussion on bows and arrows, see WTH, pages 106-108|fig:WTH.Bow.106-108.html.

And stones for slinging is literally “and for stones of slinging.” Most versions omit the preposition “for” since it makes no sense in this context. Such stones were round and about 5-7 centimeters (2-3 inches) in diameter. The sling was a long string with a leather or woven cloth pouch in the middle to hold the stone. The warrior would spin the sling around over his head and then let go of one end of the sling, releasing the stone at a speed of more than 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour.

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 .

From the time when he turned away from the LORD: See verses 14 and 20. The Hebrew literally says “From the time when Amazyahu turned away from the LORD,” but both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have replaced the name “Amazyahu” with the pronoun he for reasons of English style.

They made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem is literally “they conspired a conspiracy….” The Hebrew word translated conspiracy is the same one rendered “treason” in 2 Chr 23.13 (see the comments there). The subject of the Hebrew verb here is indefinite. In languages that use passive forms, the meaning of this clause may be expressed as “a conspiracy was formed against him” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Where the passive is not possible, the following model of Contemporary English Version might be helpful: “some people in Jerusalem plotted against Amaziah.”

And he fled to Lachish: Lachish was an important city, strategically located about 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Jerusalem (see the comments on 2 Chr 11.9). It would have been a possible place of refuge for the king in the face of an uprising against him in his capital city. It will be important in most languages to add a classifier word like “city.”

But they sent after him to Lachish: The pronoun they refers to the same indefinite enemies as in the beginning of the verse. Revised English Bible has “the conspirators” as the subject of this clause. For they sent after him, Good News Translation has “his enemies followed him,” and New American Bible says “they pursued him.” Other possible renderings are “he was pursued” and “he was followed” if the passive form is a realistic option. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “they sent men after him,” indicating that the leaders of the coup did not make the journey themselves, but rather sent their subordinates. To Lachish may be rendered “there” (Good News Translation) since this city has just been mentioned.

And slew him there: The archaic verb slew is replaced by “killed” in New Revised Standard Version.

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 .

In Jerusalem he made engines, invented by skilful men: The initial prepositional phrase In Jerusalem may be shifted to a different position in the sentence if it is more natural to do so. In fact, in Hebrew the verb for made comes first. The rendering of Revised Standard Version makes it sound as if Uzziah did the actual work of building the war equipment in view here after the inventors provided the plans. But this was almost certainly not the case. The inventors of this equipment were also the ones who built it. Engines invented by skilful men is literally “thought/invention of inventing by an inventor.” The Hebrew may be understood as referring to war equipment made by a single individual or by several individuals. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation refer to several inventors. Other versions mention only one inventor; for example, Bible en français courant says “the engines invented by an engineer” (similarly Moffatt), and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has “machines … invented by an expert.”

To be on the towers and the corners: The war equipment was placed in the towers and on the corners of Jerusalem’s walls (see verse 9). Good News Translation add the words “of the city wall” (similarly Bible en français courant).

To shoot arrows and great stones: This clause describes how the war equipment worked. According to Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, it refers to catapults, which were offensive weapons used to hurl arrows and stones. However, catapults were probably not invented until several centuries later. The detailed palace reliefs that depict Assyrian conquests of various cities of Judah in this period do not show catapults. So this war equipment was probably defensive structures built on the city walls to shield the defenders on the walls as they shot arrows and threw down large stones on the attackers below. New Living Translation expresses this sense well by rendering the first sentence of the verse as “And he built structures on the walls of Jerusalem, designed by experts to protect those who shot arrows and hurled large stones from the towers and corners of the wall.”

And his fame spread far is literally “And his name went out far.” The Hebrew word for “name” has the sense of reputation in this context. New Century Version says “So Uzziah became famous in faraway places.”

For he was marvelously helped is literally “for he was marvelously to be helped.” The Hebrew verb rendered was marvelously is sometimes used in reference to doing miraculous acts. New Jerusalem Bible renders this clause as “for he was miraculously helped.” The implied agent of the passive verb was … helped is most likely God as some modern versions make explicit (so Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Bible en français courant). But is it also possible to understand the implied agent to be other human beings (so the alternative translation in Bible en français courant).

Till he was strong hints at the fact that Uzziah was no longer helped by God after he became powerful, and the following section makes this abundantly clear. Ironically, as noted in the comments on 2Chr 26.1, his name means “Yahweh is my strength.” For the idea of strong here, see the comments on 2Chr 26.8.

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 .

And they brought him upon horses: The pronoun they is again indefinite, but it probably refers to the same people who killed Amaziah. In some languages the personal pronoun him will not be acceptable in this context since Amaziah was no longer alive. Even in languages where this is possible, it may be more natural to speak of “his corpse” or “his body” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew word for horses is plural. However, Good News Translation renders upon horses as “on a horse,” and New International Version says “by horse.” The intended sense of the plural is probably that they brought his corpse “in a chariot pulled by several horses” (Bible en français courant).

And he was buried with his fathers: See the comments on 2 Chr 21.1. The passive expression he was buried will have to be made active in some languages, as it is in the Hebrew text. Possible models are “they [indefinite] buried him” and “his people buried him.” The word fathers in this context refers to the ancestors of King Amaziah. Good News Translation implies this by rendering with his fathers as “in the royal tombs.”

For the city of David, see the comments on 1 Chr 11.5. The Masoretic Text says “the city of Judah” (New International Version, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), which Moffatt renders “the capital of Judah.” Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint and the parallel text in 2 Kgs 14.20 by saying the city of David (also Revised English Bible). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to “the city of Judah.” If the Masoretic Text is followed, a footnote may be added to say that the expressions the city of David and “the city of Judah” refer to the same place.

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 .

But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD …: But renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Revised Standard Version takes it here as marking contrast between the expected behavior of the priests (allowing the king to do whatever he pleased) and their actual conduct. Most other modern versions ignore this conjunction (so Good News Translation). Azariah the priest is otherwise unknown. Bible en français courant calls him the “high priest” here, bringing this information forward from verse 20.

The Hebrew phrase rendered men of valor (literally “sons of strength”) is often used to describe soldiers (see, for example, 1 Chr 5.18, where it is translated “valiant men”), but here it highlights the bravery of the priests who risked making the king angry by trying to prevent him from committing sacrilege. New Living Translation calls them “brave men,” and God’s Word says “courageous priests.”

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 .

And all the people of Judah took Uzziah … and made him king …: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered And may be omitted at the beginning of this new section (so Good News Translation). The Hebrew verbs rendered took and made … king may be combined in some languages; for example, New Century Version begins this verse with “Then all the people of Judah made Uzziah king….” The name Uzziah (literally “Uzziyahu”) means “Yahweh is my strength.” Uzziah is usually called “Azariah” (which means “Yahweh helps”) in the parallel text in 2 Kings and in 1 Chr 3.12. Despite the significant dissimilarity of the two names in English, the difference in Hebrew between the two is the presence or absence of a single consonant, so the difference between the two forms of the name is greater in English than in Hebrew. It will be important to inform the reader that the name Uzziah refers to the same person as Azariah in other contexts. Probably the best way to do this is through a footnote at the beginning of this section. The texts provide no reason for the different names, but see the comments on 1 Chr 3.12.

Instead of his father Amaziah may be rendered “to replace Amaziah his father.” The biblical text nowhere clearly states that Uzziah became king only after the death of his father Amaziah, so the translation should not indicate that Amaziah was already dead when Uzziah became king. Biblical scholars debate whether Uzziah became king before or after his father’s death. Some think that Uzziah ruled in Judah for as many as twenty-five years while his father was alive and a prisoner in Samaria.

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 .

And they withstood King Uzziah: Withstood is literally “stood against.” Other possible renderings are “confronted” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, NET Bible) and “opposed” (God’s Word, La Bible du Semeur). For this whole clause New Century Version has “They told him he was wrong.”

It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD: Contemporary English Version says “Your Majesty, this isn’t right! You are not allowed to burn incense to the LORD.” Contemporary English Version begins with a term of respect, which may be helpful in other languages. Although the priests were confronting the king, they did so with respect.

But for the priests the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense: See the comments on verse 16. In this context the sons of Aaron refers to “the descendants of Aaron” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). The Hebrew verb rendered are consecrated comes from the same root as the adjective that is usually translated “holy” and means “cause to be holy” or “set aside for a special [holy] purpose.” The priests were set aside to serve God in the Temple (see the comments on 1 Chr 23.13). New Living Translation says “are set apart.”

Go out of the sanctuary: For the Hebrew word rendered sanctuary, see the comments on 1 Chr 22.19. Here it may be rendered “holy place” (Good News Translation).

For you have done wrong: The Hebrew verb here is the same one rendered “was false” in verse 16 (see the comments there).

And it will bring you no honor from the LORD God: The translation of this clause is uncertain. The meaning may be (a) what Uzziah has done will not bring honor to him from God, or (b) because of what Uzziah has done, God will not reveal himself in his glory to Uzziah. The Hebrew noun kavod is usually translated “honor” in this context, but it may also be rendered “glory,” “splendor,” or “reputation.” For this whole clause Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has “and it will deprive you of the protection of God, the Lord.” However, the following alternative rendering in Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente seems to be the more widely accepted translation: “and it will not give you honor in the eyes of the Lord God.” A slightly different interpretation is expressed in New American Bible with “and [you] no longer have a part in the glory that comes from the LORD God.”

The direct quotation here may be made into indirect discourse by rendering the whole verse as follows:

• They respectfully told him that he had no right to burn incense as an offering to the LORD. They said that right belonged only to the priests, Aaron’s descendants. Then they told him that the LORD God would not honor him for what he had done and asked him to leave the holy place because he had done wrong.

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 .