Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with exceedingly many chariots and horsemen?: This negative question is rhetorical, expecting a positive answer. Since King Asa defeated the enormous army of Cushites and Libyans by trusting in God (2 Chr 14.9-13), he should have trusted in God again to defeat King Baasha of Israel rather than trusting in the Syrian army of Benhadad. For Ethiopians and Libyans, see the comments on 2 Chr 12.3. As there, it is best to render Ethiopians as “Cushites” (New Century Version, Nouvelle version Segond révisée). For chariots and horsemen, see the comments on 1 Chr 18.4. As there, the Hebrew term rendered horsemen refers to soldiers who were in charge of caring for the horses and driving the chariots. New American Bible says “drivers.” For this whole question New Living Translation has “Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers?” Since it is a rhetorical question, some translators may prefer to render it as a statement. Two models that do this are “Remember that the Ethiopians and the Libyans formed a strong army blessed with a great number of chariots and their crews/teams” (La Bible du Semeur) and “The Cushites and Libyans had a large and powerful army and many chariots and horsemen” (New Century Version).

Yet because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand: Yet translates the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it introduces something unexpected, so this translation is justified. Other possible connectors are “But” (Good News Translation) and “However.” As elsewhere, your hand is an idiom for “your power” (New American Bible). Some modern English versions attempt to retain some of the imagery by rendering the last clause of this verse as “he handed them over to you” (New Century Version, God’s Word). In some languages it may be necessary to reverse the order of the two clauses in this sentence. Parole de Vie does it by saying “Yet the LORD delivered them into your power, because you relied on him.”

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 .