All the valiant men arose is literally “And every valiant man arose.” Good News Translation does not preserve the emphasis that all the brave men went. But New American Bible keeps it by saying “its warriors rose to a man.” “To a man” emphasizes that every warrior went. There is no apparent reason for omitting this detail. Valiant men refers to the most courageous warriors, who were usually involved in military matters. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente calls them “soldiers.” The Hebrew verb rendered arose does not necessarily mean that the men were sitting or lying down. It means they “set out” (Holman Christian Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, Moffatt, La Bible du Semeur, Osty-Trinquet), but New Revised Standard Version says they “got up.” New Century Version, like Good News Translation, says simply they “went.” The parallel text in 1 Sam 31.12 says the men traveled all night. The distance was about 32 kilometers (20 miles).

And took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh: As noted in the comments on 1 Chr 10.8, a word such as “corpse” or “cadaver” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) may be used to refer to the dead bodies of Saul and his sons.

And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh: The parallel in 1 Sam 31.12 says that they first burned the corpses, but the writer here does not include that information and it should not be added. According to current experts, the Hebrew word for oak should be translated “terebinth” (so Bible en français courant, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Braun, Osty-Trinquet). Other translations include “great tree” (New International Version) and “tamarisk” (New Jerusalem Bible, La Bible du Semeur). The name of the tree is not the same as that in the parallel in 1 Sam 31.12. Some interpreters suggest that a particular tree that was well known is intended here since the definite article the is used with this tree. But the use of the definite article in Hebrew is different from English usage. Hebrew sometimes uses a definite article when English would use an indefinite article. So although Revised Standard Version uses the definite article, the meaning may simply be “a terebinth.” If the species of the tree is transliterated, it will be helpful to add the classifier “tree,” for example, “a terebinth tree.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says simply “a large tree,” without indicating what kind of tree.

And fasted seven days: Fasting is practiced in many cultures today, and often a well-known word exists to translate the Hebrew term. Fasting consisted of a voluntary and temporary abstinence from eating food for religious reasons such as repentance, mourning, and prayer. Here they did it because they mourned the deaths of Saul and his sons. Other ways of translating fasted include “went without eating to show their sorrow” (Contemporary English Version) and “as a sign of sorrow, fasted” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente; similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Seven days may also be rendered “a whole week long” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

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 .