For the Levites left their common lands and their holdings: The Hebrew particle rendered For emphasizes what follows, so New International Version, New Living Translation, and New Century Version translate it “even.” By moving south to Rehoboam’s kingdom, these Levites left, that is “abandoned” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation), their property and homes in the northern kingdom. For their common lands and their holdings, see Lev 25.32-34; Num 35.1-5; 1 Chr 6.54-80. The Levites did not receive their own territory in which to live, but they were given towns to live in within the territories of the other tribes. They were also given pastureland around the towns where they lived. Good News Translation expresses this phrase as “their pastures and other lands.” New American Bible is similar with “their assigned pasture lands and their holdings.” Their holdings may be translated “other things that they owned.”

And came to Judah and Jerusalem: The text does not clearly indicate whether these Levites remained permanently in Jerusalem and the rest of Judah, saying only that they came. But the interpretation in Good News Translation is most likely correct by saying they “moved.” For readers unfamiliar with the geography of the Bible, the phrase Judah and Jerusalem may be misunderstood. It is important to make it clear that Jerusalem was a part of Judah—it was the capital. For this reason Contemporary English Version translates “Jerusalem and other towns in Judah.”

Because Jeroboam and his sons cast them out from serving as priests of the LORD: Two meanings are possible for this clause. It may mean that during the reign of Jeroboam he and his sons did not allow the Levites to serve as priests in the northern kingdom. If so, his sons had some kind of official positions. But it is also possible to understand the text to mean that the action against the Levites continued during the rule of Jeroboam’s sons. This second interpretation seems to be the basis for the following renderings: “since Jeroboam and the kings of Israel that followed him would not allow any Levites to serve as priests” (Contemporary English Version) and “because King Jeroboam of Israel and his successors would not let them serve as priests of the LORD” (Good News Translation; similarly Revised English Bible, Moffatt). But unlike the Hebrew, neither Good News Translation nor Contemporary English Version makes it clear that these successors were Jeroboam’s sons.

Contemporary English Version restructures this whole verse in a way that may be a helpful model for other languages, saying:

• And since Jeroboam and the kings of Israel that followed him would not allow any Levites to serve as priests, most Levites left their towns and pasturelands in Israel and moved to Jerusalem and other towns in Judah.

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 .