And when Judah looked is literally “And Judah turned.” The soldiers of Judah turned around and saw the ambush. New Century Version says “When the soldiers of Judah turned around.”

Behold, the battle was before and behind them: The Hebrew focusing word rendered behold is used here to show the surprise of the soldiers of Judah. For this whole clause Bible en français courant has “they discovered that they would have to fight on two fronts.”

And they cried to the LORD: The common Hebrew conjunction translated and connects the two parts of this verse. In this context the troops of Judah shouted for God’s help as a result of what they had seen, so the conjunction may be translated “So” ( NET Bible). It is also possible to understand the conjunction here as a temporal connector introducing the next event, so it may be rendered “Then” (New International Version). The Hebrew verb translated cried does not mean “to weep,” but rather “to shout [for help or deliverance].” Some possible models are “prayed desperately” (The Message) and “called … for help” (Parole de Vie).

And the priests blew the trumpets: See the comments on verse 12.

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 .