There are several difficulties in understanding this verse, and the many different translations reflect the difficulties.
For Shuppim and Hosah it came out for the west is literally “For Shuppim and for Hosah for the west.” Revised Standard Version supplies it came out. Most other versions also find it necessary to supply this implied information about the result of the drawing of the lots. For this verb phrase see the comments on verse 14.
The name Shuppim occurs here without having been previously mentioned in this section. Some interpreters think that the name is the result of a scribe’s error. The name Shuppim is similar in spelling and sound to the Hebrew word for “storehouses” (ʾasuppim). Perhaps a scribe wrote the word in the margin of verse 15 and it was written into the text of verse 16 and then understood to be a person’s name. Several translations omit the name Shuppim because they think the name is a mistake in the Masoretic Text (so Revised English Bible, New American Bible, American Bible, Einheitsübersetzung, Braun, Klein, Knoppers, Menge). With the omission of the name Shuppim, only one person is named for the west gate, as also for the north, south, and east gates. Instead of Shuppim, the Septuagint manuscripts read either “the second” or “to the doorkeepers,” both of which are spelled similarly to the name Shuppim in Hebrew. Translators should follow the Masoretic Text here, which is given a {B} rating by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament.
The gate of Shallecheth is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, although it may possibly be the same gate that is called the Foundation Gate in 2 Chr 23.5. New Jerusalem Bible says “the Gate of the Felled Tree-trunk.” Many versions understand for the west, at the gate of Shallecheth as referring both to a west gate and to another gate called Shallecheth (so Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). But the Hebrew may refer to one gate only, as Revised Standard Version seems to suggest (also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Compare also “the west side with the Shallecheth gate” (New American Bible). It is not entirely clear whether the west gate is identified as the gate of Shallecheth or whether two different gates are in view here. A decision on this question may have some bearing on how the last part of this verse is translated. Probably this gate was in the west side of the wall surrounding the royal precincts. This wall stood between the wall around the Temple, which contained the west gate, and the outer wall, which enclosed the city itself. Johnstone argues that the word Shallecheth comes from the Hebrew root slk, meaning “to throw out,” and that the gate was the place where garbage was thrown out of the city.
The Septuagint has “the gate of the chamber” instead of the gate of Shallecheth. La Bible Pléiade, following the Septuagint here, reads “the gate of the room” and states in a footnote that the Hebrew word shalleketh makes no sense. According to this La Bible Pléiade translation, “the chamber/room” probably refers to the rooms in the Temple where the Levites lived (see 1 Chr 9.26, 33). Some interpreters think that the Hebrew word shalleketh is an error for the word lishkath (“chamber”) due to metathesis (the transposition of letters in a word), and this is the basis for the renderings “the gate of the chambers” (Klein) and “the chamber gate” (Knoppers). This interpretation is supported by 1 Chr 9.26, which says that the four chief gatekeepers were in charge of the chambers.
The exact meaning of on the road that goes up is not clear. Apparently people who went out through the gate of Shallecheth went up a road toward the Fish Gate in the northwest corner of the city. However, others understand this as a road going up toward the palace or the Temple from the Tyropoeon Valley on the west side of the Temple Mount instead of a road going up away from the Temple. This second interpretation is the basis for translations such as “at the gateway that goes to the palace” (God’s Word) and “the gateway leading up to the Temple” (New Living Translation). Yet others interpret the Hebrew noun translated road on the basis of an Akkadian noun that means “gateway,” which is sometimes accompanied by an outside stairway. This is the basis for the translation “the gateway that leads upward” (Klein).
Watch corresponded to watch: The meaning of the Hebrew here is not clear. There are at least three possible interpretations: (1) It may mean the Temple guards took turns (so Good News Translation); for example, God’s Word says “One squad of guards served its watch after another.” (2) It may mean that one group of guards faced another group (so Nouvelle Bible Segond, Osty-Trinquet). (3) It may mean each family of guards had similar tasks; for example, New American Bible says “For each family, watches were established,” apparently referring to the families of Shelemiah, Obed Edom, and Hosah. All of these interpretations are possible and acceptable.
A number of versions begin a new paragraph with this sentence (so New International Version, God’s Word, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) or at least take it with verses 17-18 (so New Jerusalem Bible, American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). New International Version, for example, reads “Guard was alongside of guard: 17 There were six Levites a day on the east….” Bible en français courant is similar with “The respective guard teams were divided in the following manner: 17 at the west gate, six Levites each day….” According to these versions, the guards were on duty at the same time but in different places.
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 .