On the east there were six each day is literally “On the east the Levites six.” The Septuagint reads “each day” instead of “the Levites.” The spelling of “each day” (layom) and “the Levites” (halewiyim) is similar in Hebrew, but probably the change in the Septuagint was deliberate to agree with the rest of the verse. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text (“the Levites”). But surely the words “each day” are implied here in the Masoretic Text and may be made explicit in translation as in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, which says “on the east, six Levites each day” (similarly New Revised Standard Version, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible follow the Septuagint by adding each day and by omitting “the Levites” (also Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation substitutes the word “guards” for “Levites.” The east gate was also known as “the king’s gate” (1 Chr 9.18), and it was the most important gate.

Two and two at the storehouse: The meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is not certain. It may be understood in the following ways:

• (1) Two guards were on each side of the storehouse.

• (2) There were two doors in the storehouse and two Levites guarded each door.

• (3) There were two storehouses, each guarded by two guards (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Good News Translation has added the words “four guards were stationed,” which is implied in the Good News Translation interpretation that there were two storerooms guarded by two guards each day. Contemporary English Version says “Two guards were stationed at each of the two storerooms” (similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and Bible en français courant has “at the storehouses, two teams of two.” The Nouvelle Bible Segond rendering, “and four at the storehouses in two different places,” seems to follow this interpretation also.

• (4) New International Version gives a fourth possible meaning: “two at a time at the storehouse.”

• (5) Biblia Dios Habla Hoy presents a fifth possible meaning: “and two for every one of the storehouses.”

Since the meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is so uncertain, translators should chose one of the possible meanings and perhaps indicate in a footnote a few of the other possible meanings.

For storehouse see the comments on verse 15. The Hebrew noun here is plural, referring to “storehouses,” but the exact number of such buildings is not stated.

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 .