On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah: On the fourth day refers to the day following the activity of plundering all the articles of value that had belonged to the enemy armies. Depending on how the previous verse is worded, it may be possible to begin here with “On the next day.” The Valley of Beracah went down from the highlands of Judah, west of Tekoa. The Hebrew word Beracah means “praise” or “blessing.”

For there they blessed the LORD: For many languages it may be better to render blessed as “praised” (Good News Translation) in this context (see the comments on 1 Chr 29.10).

Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day: For readers today to understand why the place was called the Valley of Beracah, the translation will have to provide this information. There are several different ways to do so:

(1) A footnote may be used to explain the meaning of the Hebrew word Beracah (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant).
(2) The Hebrew word may be translated; for example, Knox renders the Valley of Beracah as “the Valley of Blessing,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has “the valley of Benediction” (similarly El libro del Pueblo de Dios).
(3) A combination of the Hebrew word and its meaning may be used; for example, Contemporary English Version renders this whole verse as “Then on the fourth day, everyone came together in Beracah Valley and sang praises to the LORD. That’s why that place was called Praise Valley” (similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
(4) The Hebrew word may be used, followed by an explanation, by rendering the last half of this verse as “That is why still today this valley carries the name Beracah, which means ‘praise.’” An American Translation is similar with “therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah [blessing] to this day.” Nouvelle Bible Segond does the same, only with parentheses rather than square brackets.

For to this day, see the comments on 1 Chr 4.41.

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 .