Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun … six: Jeduthun was one of the three clan heads mentioned in verse 1. The repetition of the name Jeduthun is redundant in English and may be awkward in many languages. Many modern versions, including New International Version and Revised English Bible, avoid this repetition.
Zeri is called “Izri” in verse 11, and Revised English Bible corrects the Hebrew here to read “Izri” also. Good News Translation and New Living Translation have “Zeri” in both places.
The Masoretic Text lacks the name Shime-i. The claim found in some modern versions (for example, New International Version, English Standard Version, La Bible du Semeur) that this name also exists in one Hebrew manuscript is not correct (see Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, page 467). But the name is found in the Septuagint. Moreover, the list of names in verses 9-31 corresponds to the twenty-four names in verses 2-4, so we expect to see the name Shime-i here as in verse 17. Without Shimei’s name, there are only five sons instead of six. Some versions follow the Masoretic Text here (so New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Nouvelle Bible Segond), but a number of versions add the name Shime-i, either after Jeshaiah (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, New Century Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Nueva Versión Internacional, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Osty-Trinquet) or after Mattithiah (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, La Bible Pléiade in square brackets). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Septuagint here and recommends that the Masoretic Text be corrected by adding the name Shime-i.
As in the previous verse, some versions place the number of sons (six) before the listing of their names (so Good News Translation, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).
Under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the lyre in thanksgiving and praise to the LORD: Revised Standard Version is ambiguous regarding who prophesied, but the Hebrew clearly refers to Jeduthun as the one who did this. New Century Version correctly makes Jeduthun the subject of the verb prophesied by saying “He preached.” According to Good News Translation and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, the sons of Jeduthun were the ones who proclaimed God’s message under Jeduthun’s direction, but these translations should not be followed here. Nor should Contemporary English Version, which renders the whole verse as “Jeduthun’s six sons, Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, were under the direction of their father and played harps and sang praises to the LORD.”
It is not clear in the Hebrew who played the lyre (see verse 1). The meaning is most likely that the father prophesied to the accompaniment of the lyre played by others while his sons gave thanks and praise to God. Revised English Bible expresses the meaning clearly by rendering the whole verse as “Of the sons of Jeduthun: Gelaliah, Izri, Isaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, Mattithiah, these six under their father Jeduthun, a leader in inspired prophecy to the accompaniment of the lyre, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.”
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 .