But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart …: But translates the common Hebrew conjunction. Good News Translation and An American Translation use the connector “however.” Either of these contrastive connectors is acceptable here since there is a turn in the story when Hezekiah finally humbled himself. Good News Translation also adds the adverb “Finally” to show that the story is reaching a climax. Humbled himself means he acknowledged his wrongdoing and repented (see the comments on 2 Chr 7.14). This whole clause may be rendered “But later Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem were sorry and stopped being proud” (New Century Version).

So that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them: This clause gives the result of the peoples’ repentance. It picks up the same wording as in the previous verse, and may be restructured by saying “so the LORD stopped being angry with them” or “so the LORD decided not to punish them.”

In the days of Hezekiah provides the limits of God’s gracious tolerance. This phrase may be expressed as “during the lifetime of Hezekiah” (Nouvelle Bible Segond), “while Hezekiah was king,” or “until after Hezekiah died.”

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 .

The verb in this sentence comes in the next verse. However, some versions insert a verb here at the beginning of verse 6, saying “He did the same thing[s]” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation).

And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali: Revised Standard Version, which follows the form of the Hebrew here, could be misread to mean that Ephraim and Simeon were cities of Manasseh. Also, the expression cities of Manasseh is subject to misunderstanding since the text of 2 Chronicles has just talked about a king named Manasseh in the previous chapter, but this is not a reference to cities belonging to or related to the king named Manasseh. Therefore, it may be better here to translate “in the towns in the territory of the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon all the way to the towns of Naphtali.” As in similar contexts, Contemporary English Version specifies Manasseh as “West Manasseh” here. The tribe of Naphtali was located further north than the other tribes mentioned here. Good News Translation makes this explicit by adding “as far north as.”

In their ruins round about: The northern kingdom had been defeated by Assyria, and the words their ruins refers to the what was left after the destruction inflicted on the cities by the Assyrian armies. However, the Hebrew is uncertain here. One possible literal translation of the Hebrew is “on the mountain their houses round about.” But this seems to make little sense. Scholars have suggested numerous ways to correct the Hebrew text here as follows:

(1) Some interpreters change the Hebrew word meaning “on the mountain” [bahar] to a word meaning “destroyed,” and read “he destroyed their idolatrous temples” (see 2 Kgs 23.19). Moffatt, for example, translates “destroyed their houses.”
(2) Others change the middle consonant of the Hebrew word bahar to read “burned” (biʿer); for example, Revised English Bible has “he burnt down their houses wherever he found them.”
(3) Some change the middle consonant to read biʿer with the meaning “removed.” This is the basis for Dillard’s rendering, which is “he removed their temples.”
(4) Other interpreters change the letters in the Hebrew word bahar to read bechar and then connect this word to the following word to read “in their ruins” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Nouvelle Bible Segond; similarly New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Good News Translation is similar with “the devastated areas.” These words refer to the devastation caused earlier by the Assyrian army.
(5) Yet other interpreters change the letters in the Hebrew word bahar to read berach and then connect this word to the following word to read “in their public squares” (Luther). This is the basis for translations such as “and around their plazas” (Anchor Bible; similarly Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), “and round their open spaces” (New Jerusalem Bible).
(6) The margin of the Masoretic Text reads “with their swords all around.”
(7) Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to a slight emendation of the Masoretic Text that changes bahar to read bachar, which means “searched.” This is the basis for the rendering “where he searched the houses” (Bible en français courant). Josiah searched homes to find out if anyone had hidden idols in their homes. The legislation in Deut 13.14 expresses the same idea.

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 .

Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as passover offerings for all that were present …: Like Hezekiah before him (2 Chr 31.3), King Josiah made a personal contribution to the celebration of the Passover. The Hebrew verb for contributed is literally “lifted up,” but its meaning here is “offered” or “gave” (New Century Version). For the lay people, see the comments on 2Chr 35.5.

Lambs and kids from the flock to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bulls: The Hebrew word for lambs refers to young rams (see the comments on 1 Chr 29.21), and the expression for kids (literally “sons of goats”) refers to young goats. But several versions omit any reference to the age of the animals and translate simply “sheep and goats” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Century Version). Revised English Bible, on the other hand, translates explicitly “young rams and goats.”

According to Exo 12.3-11, the Passover offering must consist of sheep or goats, and the meat must be roasted, not boiled in water. However, according to Deut 16.2-8, cattle as well as sheep and goats could be offered, and the meat must be boiled in water. These two different traditions are combined in 2 Chronicles, with the result that the Passover offering consisted of sheep and goats, and the cattle were considered as a separate additional offering. Verse 13 calls the offering of cattle “the holy offerings.” The Hebrew text here in verse 7 indicates that the passover offerings consisted only of the lambs and kids. The bulls were not a part of the passover offerings but were additional offerings. By restructuring the wording of this verse, Good News Translation does not maintain this distinction.

The words to the number of thirty thousand follow the words all that were present in the Hebrew text, but the number 30,000 refers to the lambs and kids and not to the people. Revised Standard Version has changed the word order to avoid the ambiguity.

These were from the king’s possessions: This statement that makes it clear that what King Josiah contributed was taken from what he owned personally. This information may easily be incorporated in the earlier part of the verse to avoid a separate sentence here. Good News Translation does so with the words “from his own herds and flocks.”

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 .

Therefore renders the common Hebrew conjunction as a logical connector, which is appropriate in this context. Other versions use the similar connector “So” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version, God’s Word). But New International Version and Revised English Bible omit the conjunction here.

He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans: The pronoun he refers to the LORD, which Good News Translation and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente make explicit. Brought up against them may be rendered “caused … to attack them” or “made … to fight against them.” The Chaldeans lived in southern Babylonia on the Persian Gulf. Under the rule of Nabopolassar, they captured the city of Babylon in 622 B.C. The term Chaldea then became a synonym for “Babylonia” (so Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Who slew their young men with the sword …: In the Hebrew text the verbs rendered brought up, slew, had … compassion, and gave seem to have the same subject. Who slew is literally “and he slew.” Since God is the subject of the first verb and the last verb, some interpreters think that God is also the subject of the verbs slew and had … compassion. Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other versions make the Babylonian king the subject of the middle verbs. But New Jerusalem Bible seems to have God as the subject of all four verbs. Of course, it was the Babylonian soldiers (so Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) and not strictly speaking the Babylonian king (so Good News Translation) who killed the young men of Judah, but the writer seems to say that they were simply carrying out God’s will. The verb slew is somewhat archaic, so New Revised Standard Version and most other modern versions say “killed.” The Hebrew word translated young men is the plural of the same word rendered young man in this verse. Some interpreters think that the meaning of the Hebrew word should be understood to mean “elite” in light of a cognate noun in the Mari writings, which refers to elite or select soldiers. This understanding is the basis for the La Bible Pléiade rendering “elite men.” But most interpreters do not find this nuance in the Hebrew term. For the phrase with the sword, see the comments on 2 Chr 21.4.

The house of their sanctuary may be rendered simply “the Temple” (Good News Translation). See the comments on 1 Chr 22.19.

And had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged: For the Hebrew verb rendered had … compassion, see the comments on verse 15. The Hebrew word translated virgin is rendered “young woman” in New Revised Standard Version. In this context it refers to any young woman and stands in opposition to young man. The point of the list here is to include all people of whatever age or sex. It also includes people who may be in poor health or in good health. The Hebrew term for aged refers to the weakness that comes with old age. For this reason Revised English Bible translates old man or aged as “neither the old nor the weak.” Some other renderings are “the aged or the feeble” (New Revised Standard Version) and “the old people or the sick people” (God’s Word).

He gave them all into his hand: The pronoun he refers to God and the pronoun his refers to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. In some languages one or both of these pronouns will have to be translated by a noun; for example, New International Version and New Century Version say “God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar,” Revised English Bible has “God gave them all into his power,” and Contemporary English Version translates “God let him kill everyone in the city.” This took place just as Jeremiah had prophesied (see Jer 21.1-10; 34.1-5; see also Ezek 12.12-14). The word hand is used here as an image for power.

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 .

Verses 29-31 list the sons of Ishmael. His mother was Hagar, the maidservant of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Compare Gen 25.12-16.

These are their genealogies: The pronoun their refers to Ishmael and Isaac. The Hebrew word rendered genealogies usually refers to a list of persons related by a common ancestor. Their genealogies has been rendered “their posterity” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée, La Bible du Semeur), “their families” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “their descendants” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), and “list of their descendants” (Bible en français courant).

According to Gen 25.16, the twelve sons of Ishmael became the heads of twelve major tribes. The Hebrew text of verses 29-31 simply lists the names of his sons, without including this information. Good News Translation and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje add it by beginning verse 29 with “The sons of Ishmael became the heads of twelve tribes.” These tribes lived in the desert and on the edges of the desert in Syria and Arabia to the east and south of Israel. Revised English Bible begins with “The sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth.” The words “The sons of” are not in the Hebrew, but Revised English Bible adds them to agree with the parallel passage of Gen 25.13, based on the belief that they have been accidentally omitted from the Hebrew text.

The first-born of Ishmael, Nebaioth …: For first-born see the comments on verse 13. Depending on the structure of the sentence in the receptor language, it may be necessary in some cases to supply additional information following the name of Ishmael’s oldest son Nebaioth; for example, some languages may say “Ishmael’s oldest son was Nebaioth, whose brothers were…” or “Ishmael’s oldest son was Nebaioth, and his other children were called….”

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 .

But Geshur and Aram took from them Havvoth-jair, Kenath and its villages, sixty towns: Several versions place this sentence in parentheses since it interrupts the list of Machir’s descendants (so New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version).

But renders the common Hebrew conjunction, which is often translated “and.” Revised English Bible and New American Bible leave it untranslated here, but in many languages the context will require that some sort of contrast be indicated. The towns in Gilead had belonged to Jair, but they were taken over by Geshur and Aram. This information is introduced without any time reference in the Hebrew. Some translations relate this episode to the preceding verses by adding the words “Some time later” (Contemporary English Version) or simply “Later” (New Living Translation).

Geshur and Aram were Syrian kingdoms on the north and east borders of Israel. One of King David’s wives was a daughter of King Talmai of Geshur (2 Sam 3.3). A literal translation of the Hebrew here may incorrectly suggest that Geshur and Aram were individuals. Good News Translation avoids this by saying “the kingdoms of Geshur and Aram,” and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “the Geshurites and the Arameans.” Parole de Vie has “the kings of Geshur and Aram” as representatives of their respective kingdoms, while Contemporary English Version speaks of “the nations of Geshur and Aram.” Aram may be translated by the better-known name “the Syrians” (La Bible du Semeur, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous, Menge).

In certain languages the verb took in this context may be better rendered “took control of,” “conquered” (Good News Translation), or “captured” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Century Version). The pronoun them refers to Machir and his descendants mentioned in the previous verses.

Havvoth-jair, Kenath and its villages is literally “Havvoth-jair, Kenath, and its daughters.” Since there is no conjunction “and” between the names of the two towns here, some interpreters consider Kenath and its villages to be in apposition to Havvoth-jair. Most interpreters take the Hebrew sign of the direct object (the word ʾeth) before Kenath as indicating that Kenath was conquered, as was Havvoth-jair. However, it is possible to understand the Hebrew word ʾeth as meaning “with” here. Braun, for example, says that they took from them “Havvoth-jair with Kenath and its villages” (similarly Reina-Valera revisada).

Havvoth-jair may be understood in two different ways. It may be a place name, as in Revised Standard Version. Or Havvoth may mean here “the villages of” (Good News Translation, Reina-Valera revisada, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous; similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), in which case Havvoth-jair refers to the towns owned (or, ruled) by Jair (see verse 22). Other renderings that reflect this understanding are “the Towns of Jair” (New Living Translation) and “the Encampments of Jair” (New Jerusalem Bible, Parole de Vie, Osty-Trinquet). Contemporary English Version is more explicit with “the villages that belonged to Jair.” Either interpretation is possible.

As noted above its villages is literally “its daughters.” The Hebrew word for “daughters” is used figuratively to refer to the smaller towns in the neighborhood of the larger town of Kenath, which provided protection for the smaller towns.

All these were the descendants of Machir, the father of Gilead refers to the people who lived in these towns in Gilead. The Hebrew word for descendants is literally “sons,” but Revised Standard Version gives it the correct sense here.

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 .

These were born to him in Jerusalem: While most English versions connect this clause to the remainder of the verse, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version take it as completing the sentence begun in the previous verse. Translators should feel free to restructure this material in whichever way seems most natural in their own language, as long as it is clear that the sons listed in verses 5-8 were born in Jerusalem. The demonstrative pronoun These looks forward to the names that are about to be mentioned rather than backwards to those already listed. It may be translated more specifically as “The following sons.” If it is necessary to avoid the passive construction were born, translators may render this clause as “David’s wives gave birth to the following children in Jerusalem.”

Shime-a, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four by Bath-shua, the daughter of Ammi-el: Instead of Shime-a, this son’s name is “Shammua” in 1 Chr 14.4 and 2 Sam 5.14. Some versions harmonize here by using that form of the name (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Luther), because the Hebrew consonants are the same in these two forms of the name.

Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus through David’s son Nathan (see Luke 3.31), but Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy through David’s son Solomon (see Matt 1.6).

Since Solomon was apparently the second son born to David and Bathsheba according to 2 Sam 12.24, it is surprising that he is listed here as the fourth son. Nine sons are listed before Solomon (verses 1-5) and nine after Solomon (verses 6-8). Perhaps the importance of Solomon is emphasized by being placed in the center of the pattern 9 + 1 + 9. But the only way for translators to point out this fact would be through a footnote.

Since Solomon is the only son of Bathsheba mentioned elsewhere in the Bible, some scholars have suggested that and Solomon, four by Bath-shua be corrected to read “and Solomon, the fourth, by Bathsheba”; that is, Bathsheba would be named as the mother of the fourth son listed but not of the first three. But there is no textual evidence for such a suggestion.

Instead of Bath-shua, one Hebrew manuscript and the Vulgate read “Bathsheba” here, but other Hebrew manuscripts have Bath-shua. She first appears in 2 Sam 11.3, where she is called “Bathsheba.” Many versions harmonize the spelling here with the better known form of the name in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Menge gives both names as follows: “Bath-shua (= Bathsheba).” Good News Translation restructures this verse by placing Bathsheba’s name before the names of her four sons in order to make it clear at the outset that she was their mother (so also Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).

According to 2 Sam 11.3, Bathsheba was “the daughter of Eliam,” not the daughter of Ammiel. Apparently the name Ammiel arose by scribal error when the two parts of the name “Eliam” were reversed. Following the ancient Greek and Latin texts, Luther here corrects the text to read “the daughter of Eliam.” However, few other modern versions do so, and it may be better to deal with this problem in a footnote rather than following the other ancient texts instead of the Hebrew.

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 .