But a certain man drew his bow: The soldier who shot the arrow that killed Ahab is identified only as a certain man. On the basis of the information in 2 Kgs 5.1, some interpreters have identified him as Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, but since this is only speculation, such information should not be introduced into the translation of this verse. However, it is reasonable to specify that this man was “a Syrian soldier” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, La Bible du Semeur) or at least “a soldier” (New Century Version). For drew his bow, see the comments on 1 Chr 5.18.

At a venture is literally “in his completeness/perfection.” Revised Standard Version renders the same Hebrew noun here as “[in their] simplicity” in 2 Sam 15.11. In this context the noun may be understood two different ways: (a) completeness of strength, that is, “with all his strength” or (b) completeness of integrity, that is, “with all innocence.” Nearly all translations follow the second understanding; the soldier was not shooting at Ahab because he knew it was Ahab. He was innocently shooting at whatever enemy soldier happened to be there. This soldier who shot the king of Israel did so “By chance” (Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade). Other translations that express the intended meaning include “at random” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible), “randomly” (New Living Translation), and “without any special aim” (New Jerusalem Bible).

And struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate: The meaning of the Hebrew noun translated scale armor is uncertain, but it more likely refers to a joint between two parts of the armor. The Hebrew word for breastplate refers to a piece of armor covering the chest (and sometimes the back) to protect it against blows and arrows. The sense here seems to be that the arrow struck Ahab where there was a gap between the pieces of armor he was wearing for protection. Compare the following renderings for between the scale armor and the breastplate: “between the joints of his breastplate” (New American Bible), “between the joints of his armour” (New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt), “between the plates of the armor” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “in a joint of the armor” (NASB). A model that may be easier for some languages to translate is “in a place not covered by his armor” or “in a place where he was not protected.”

Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot: The Hebrew word translated therefore is the common Hebrew conjunction, which in this context provides a logical connection between Ahab’s being wounded and his exclamation to his chariot driver.

Turn about is literally “Turn your hand.” The charioteer (driver of the chariot) controlled the horses by pulling on the reins to go left or right. New American Bible says “Rein about.” New International Version expresses this idiomatically as “Wheel around,” and New Living Translation says “Turn the horses.”

And carry me out of the battle: The Hebrew noun translated battle is normally used for the place where soldiers pitched their camp. Either the Masoretic Text incorrectly reads “camp” (machneh in Hebrew) instead of “battle” (milchamah) or the Hebrew noun must be understood here to mean “battlefront.” For this whole clause New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “and get me behind the lines,” that is, behind the battle lines where the soldiers were lined up to fight against each other.

I am wounded translates a Hebrew verb with a wide range of uses. The general use is for bodily weakness or sickness. The form of the verb here is a causative passive, and it is generally understood to mean “to be seriously wounded.” In some languages the most natural rendering of this clause may be “they have hit me.”

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 .

And when he had taken counsel with the people: The pronoun he refers to Jehoshaphat, which New Century Version makes explicit. Good News Translation refers to him as “the king.” The Hebrew verb rendered had taken counsel is a passive form of the verb meaning “to advise.” The idea here is that the king “was advised” by the people, that is, he acted in accord with the wishes of the people. For this whole clause God’s Word says “After he had advised the people,” but this rendering makes it sound as if he simply announced his decision. New Century Version expresses the meaning more accurately by saying “Jehoshaphat listened to the people’s advice.”

He appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in holy array: It is not clear whether these people appointed by Jehoshaphat were already musicians or whether they were chosen here for the first time to sing. The Hebrew words translated in holy array may be understood in two different ways as follows (compare 1 Chr 16.29):

(1) They may be understood as referring to God’s holiness. Revised English Bible, for example, renders this whole clause as “he appointed men to sing to the LORD and praise the splendour of his holiness.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh similarly reads “he stationed singers to the LORD extolling the One majestic in holiness.” Compare also “and appointed musicians to play before the LORD and praise his majestic splendor” ( NET Bible).
(2) They may be understood as referring to the clothing worn by the singers. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation take the Hebrew words to mean that the singers were dressed in sacred clothing (so also Moffatt, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle version Segond révisée, La Bible de Jérusalem: Nouvelle édition revue et corrigée).

As they went before the army, and say may be rendered “and to march ahead of the army, singing” (Good News Translation; similarly Contemporary English Version).

Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures for ever: See the comments on 1 Chr 16.34.

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 .

And after all this means following the invasion by the enemy forces and the removal of Jehoram’s possessions and most of his family. This phrase may be rendered “After all these things happened” (similarly New Century Version).

The LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease: Jehoram became sick in this way in fulfillment of Elijah’s prophecy (see the comments on verse 15). Smote him in his bowels may be expressed as “caused him to suffer in his intestines” or “gave Jehoram a disease in his intestines” (New Century Version).

With an incurable disease is literally “with a disease with no healing.” This phrase may be translated “that no one could heal.” Good News Translation has “a painful disease” and New Living Translation says “severe … disease,” but these two renderings are not quite correct.

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 .

So all the people of the land rejoiced: So correctly renders the common Hebrew conjunction as a logical connector by Revised Standard Version, but it may be left untranslated as in Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible. For all the people of the land, see the comments on verse 13. The Hebrew verb rendered rejoiced may be taken as referring to an inward feeling of joy or an outward expression of it. Following the latter interpretation, it may be translated “celebrated” (Contemporary English Version) or “were celebrating” (God’s Word). The first interpretation may be expressed by saying “were filled with happiness” (Good News Translation) or “were very happy” (New Century Version).

And the city was quiet: After the people rejoiced in Jerusalem, the city became calm. The common Hebrew conjunction rendered and may be translated “after that” to express the temporal relationship here clearly. New Century Version renders the city as “Jerusalem,” which other languages may find helpful. For the Hebrew word rendered was quiet, see the comments on 2 Chr 20.30.

After Athaliah had been slain with the sword: See the comments on verse 14. The rejoicing of the people and the subsequent calm in the city were both the result of Athaliah’s execution. The passive verb had been slain will have to be made active in some languages. The Hebrew actually uses an active verb since this clause is literally “and Athaliah they killed with the sword.” God’s Word provides a helpful model, saying “because they had killed Athaliah with a sword.”

This whole verse may be restructured as follows:

• After the death of Athaliah, all the people of the land rejoiced and then the city was quiet.

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 a man of God came to him and said: But correctly renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it expresses the contrast between the readers expectation that the hired soldiers from the northern kingdom would go to war and the prophet’s prohibition of this strategy. However, some interpreters believe it has a temporal function here, so they use the connector “Then” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). A man of God means “a prophet” (Good News Translation) in this context (see the comments on 2 Chr 11.2).

The vocative O king is “The king” in Hebrew, but some languages may have very different ways of indicating respect for such an authority. In English it is quite natural to say “Your Majesty” (Contemporary English Version, God’s Word). But other languages may say “Sir” or use some other term of respect.

Do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the LORD is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites: The tribe of Ephraim is used here as a synonym for the entire northern kingdom. Since Israel and all these Ephraimites are parallel in meaning, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders the last part of this verse as “with Israel—all these Ephraimites.” Parole de Vie says “with the members of the kingdom of the North, all these people of the family of Ephraim.” Good News Translation collapses the expression by saying “with these people from the Northern Kingdom” (similarly Bible en français courant).

A possible model for translating this verse and the following one as indirect discourse is given at the end of the discussion on verse 8.

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 whole number of the heads of fathers’ houses of mighty men of valor was two thousand six hundred: The army was commanded by 2,600 officers. The whole number is literally “All the number.” Several versions say “The total number” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond). These officers were the heads of fathers’ houses (see the comments on 1 Chr 5.24), which may be rendered “clan leaders” (New Living Translation) or “family leaders” (New International Version, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Good News Translation omits this phrase, but it should be kept. For mighty men of valor, see the comments on 1 Chr 12.21. This whole verse may be rendered “There were a total of 2,600 clan leaders who were in charge of the mighty fighting men” or “2,600 chiefs of family groups commanded the valiant warriors” (La Bible du Semeur).

Revised English Bible interprets this verse to mean that the 2,600 family leaders were not actually commanders but rather suppliers of the mighty soldiers. Its translation reads “The total number of heads of families which supplied seasoned warriors was two thousand six hundred.” But the difficulty with the Revised English Bible translation is that verse 13 says the army was under the command of these family leaders.

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 .

And the Philistines had made raids on the cities … and had taken …: Revised Standard Version uses the past perfect tense here to describe events that had taken place previously, but Good News Translation interprets the text to mean that these events were taking place at the same time as the events just reported. Probably the Hebrew verb form here should be understood as indicating a pause in the description of events about sending for help from Assyria in order to supply background information about what the Philistines had done. The past perfect tense in Revised Standard Version (had made raids and had taken) seems preferable to the past tense in Good News Translation. For the Hebrew verb rendered had made raids, see the comments on 1 Chr 14.9.

The Shephelah refers to the western foothills of Judah (see the comments on 1 Chr 27.28 and 2 Chr 1.15).

The Negeb of Judah refers to the southern, dry region of the kingdom of Judah (compare Jdg 1.9; 1 Sam 27.10). Instead of transliterating the term Negeb, it may be better to translate the meaning by rendering the Negeb of Judah as “southern Judah” (Good News Translation, New Century Version) or “the southern region of Judah” (Bible en français courant).

For the city of Beth-shemesh, see the comments on 2 Chr 25.21; for the city of Aijalon, see 2 Chr 11.10.

Gederoth was a city located in the Shephelah (see Josh 15.41). This city is not to be confused with Gederah, another city in the Shephelah (see 1 Chr 4.23).

Soco is the name of three different cities in the Old Testament. The reference here is most likely to the city located in the Shephelah, mentioned in Josh 15.35 and 1 Sam 17.1 (see the comments on 2 Chr 11.7). Another Soco was located in the hill country of Judah (see Josh 15.48).

The city of Timnah, which was located on the northern border of Judah, passed back and forth between Philistine and Israelite control. At the time of Samson the city was occupied by the Philistines (Jdg 14–15). At the time of King Ahaz Timnah was under Judean control. This city was about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) north of Beth-shemesh. Timnah has been identified as modern-day Tell el-Batashi.

Gimzo was a city located in the lowland region near the Philistine plain. It has been identified with modern Jimzu, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) southeast of Lod (referred to in the Maccabean period and in the New Testament as Lydda) off the Jerusalem road in the Aijalon Valley.

For the Hebrew word rendered villages (literally “daughters”), see the comments on 1 Chr 2.23. Instead of repeating with its villages three times in this verse, many languages will find it more natural to follow the model of Good News Translation which gives the names of the three cities and then mentions their surrounding villages all together.

And they settled there: The Hebrew verb rendered settled means “to sit down” or “to dwell.” The sense here is that the Philistines did more than occupy the towns and villages for a short time. They came and stayed. Good News Translation expresses the meaning well by adding the word “permanently.”

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 whole assembly worshiped: The Hebrew verb rendered worshiped is literally “bowed down” (see the comments on 1 Chr 29.20 and 2 Chr 7.3). Here it may be translated “were on their knees” (Parole de Vie; similarly La Bible Pléiade) or “bowed in worship” (New International Version).

And the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded is literally “and the song was singing and the trumpets were blowing.” The singers refers to the Temple musicians, who were Levites (see 1 Chr 25 and the comments on 1 Chr 6.33). The trumpeters refers to the priests with the responsibility of blowing the trumpets (see verse 26).

All this continued until the burnt offering was finished is literally “the all until to finish the burnt offering.” Revised Standard Version supplies the verb continued. The passive verb was finished will have to be transformed into an active one in some languages; for example, this sentence may be rendered “They continued doing all these things until the priests had finished burning the offerings.”

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 .