The priests were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole multitude: The Hebrew text does not have a stated subject at the beginning of this sentence. Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version insert the noun priests, which is not in the Hebrew. Some interpreters think the subject of were enrolled is the Levites. But the context seems to favor understanding the subject to be both the priests and the Levites. If the priests were enrolled from the age of three, while the Levites were enrolled from the age of twenty, this means that the families of the priests began receiving support long before the families of the Levites did.

The passive verb were enrolled translates a Hebrew infinitive that functions as a noun, as also in the previous verse. It may be made active by specifying an indefinite agent, as suggested in the previous verse.

Their wives may be understood to mean that each priest had several wives or only one wife. Since each priest most certainly had more than one son and one daughter, the sense may well be that some priests had more than one wife.

The whole multitude is taken by Good News Translation to mean “other dependents,” but it is also possible that this phrase is a summary expression encompassing all those already mentioned. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, for example, renders the first sentence of this verse as “and the registry of the dependents of their whole company—wives, sons and daughters.” Dillard is similar with “they were registered with all their dependents—wives, sons and daughters—the entire community.” In these translations the Hebrew word rendered little children is taken to mean “dependents” in general and not “infants.” But the Hebrew may be interpreted in a slightly different way. Since the Hebrew noun translated multitude often refers to the whole assembly of religious workers and lay people, here it may be referring to the community as a whole. Following this interpretation, New Jerusalem Bible says “And the official genealogy included all their household, their wives, their sons and their daughters, throughout the community.”

For they were faithful in keeping themselves holy: The connector for seems to introduce the reason why the priests and Levites could be officially enrolled. The sense of the Hebrew clause here is not clear. It seems to mean that the priests and Levites were enrolled and provided provisions because they were required to keep themselves ritually pure and ready to serve in the Temple at any time (so Good News Translation). That is, since the priests and Levites who were not on duty at the Temple did not eat in the sacrificial meals at the Temple, they were provided food for themselves and their families. But the sense could also be that their families received provisions because they kept themselves ritually pure (so Revised Standard Version). It is also possible to understand the Hebrew to mean that they received food “for they devoted themselves faithfully to the holy things” (An American Translation).

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 .