All the leading priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful: The particle translated likewise begins this verse in Hebrew. It introduces other people of Judah who were disobedient like Zedekiah. Other possible renderings for this word are “Also” (New Century Version), “Furthermore” (New International Version, NASB), and “In addition” (Good News Translation).

Revised Standard Version appears to follow the Masoretic Text by saying All the leading priests and the people; but as will be indicated below, Revised Standard Version does not seem to follow the accents in the Masoretic Text, which indicate how words are to be connected in meaning. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text, which reads “all the leaders of the priests and of the people.” In the Masoretic Text the accents indicate that both “of the priests” and “of the people” are to be taken with the word “leaders.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente follow this interpretation by beginning the verse with “Likewise all the leaders of the priests and of the people….” However, some versions are based on the Septuagint, which reads “all the chiefs of Judah and the priests and the people of the land” (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios).

In some languages it will be natural to add the word “other” before people since the priests were people also. The word people in this context refers to lay people who were not priests or Levites.

Were exceedingly unfaithful is literally “increased in being unfaithful unfaithfulness.” The Hebrew verb for “being unfaithful” and the noun for “unfaithfulness” come from the same root. New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible attempt to capture this feature in the Hebrew by saying “added infidelity to infidelity.” The basic idea may be expressed as “committed many trespasses” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “became more and more unfaithful to God” (Parole de Vie).

Following all the abominations of the nations: The abominations seems to refer to the worship of idols, as Good News Translation makes explicit. For the Hebrew word here, see the comments on 2 Chr 28.3, where it is rendered “abominable practices.”

They polluted the house of the LORD by adopting pagan rituals that were contrary to those prescribed for the Temple. These detestable practices are described in greater detail in Ezek 8.5-10. In some languages it will be unwise to translate the verb polluted literally. The meaning of this clause may be better expressed as “they made the Temple unclean” (God’s Word). Others use verbs such as “desecrating” (New Living Translation) and “defiling” (New International Version).

Which he had hallowed in Jerusalem: Yahweh himself had made the Temple holy. Hallowed is the opposite of polluted. In order to show this contrast better, the whole sentence may be rendered “The LORD had made the Temple in Jerusalem holy, but the leaders made it unholy” (New Century Version).

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 sons of Carmi: Achar is literally “And the sons of Carmi: Achar.” Two things are puzzling here: (1) Carmi has not been previously mentioned. So who is he? (2) The Masoretic Text says sons, but then lists only one son, Achar.

According to the previous verse, Zerah was the father of Zimri. But according to Josh 7.1, Zerah was the father of Zabdi, Zabdi was the father of Carmi, and Carmi was the father of Achan. Zabdi (Josh 7.1) and Zimri (1 Chr 2.6) are probably different spellings for the same person. If Zabdi and Zerah are the same person, this means that Carmi was a grandson of Zerah.

So how should translators render the first half of this verse? Here are the options:

• (1) Follow the Masoretic Text (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the plural word sons means that Carmi had other sons, but for some reason the writer mentions only Achar. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends the following translation: “And the sons of Carmi include Achar.” This seems to be the most satisfactory solution to a difficult problem. The textual evidence for the reading in the Masoretic Text is strong, and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to this reading.

• (2) Correct the Masoretic Text on the basis of Josh 7.1 and 7.18 by adding the name “Zimri.” Revised English Bible does this by saying “The son of Zimri: Carmi. The son of Carmi: Achar” (similarly New American Bible).

• (3) Correct the text, also on the basis of Josh 7, to read “and the son of Carmi is Achan” (LutherGod’s Word).

• (4) Correct the text, also on the basis of Josh 7, to read “Achan, who was a descendant of Zerah and the son of Carmi” (Contemporary English Version; similarly Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Instead of Achar, Josh 7.1 has “Achan.” Some translations harmonize and read “Achan” here also (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, An American Translation, Reina-Valera revisada). The Hebrew name Achar means “disaster.” In Josh 7.24 Achan and his family are taken to “the Valley of Achor” (which means “the Valley of Trouble” in Hebrew). The author of 1 Chronicles probably intended a play on words with the name “Achan” and the word “achar,” since Achar is followed immediately by the words the troubler of Israel. In many languages this expression may be better translated by a verb phrase, such as “who caused trouble for Israel” or “who brought trouble upon Israel” (New American Bible). La Bible du Semeur attempts to bring out the play on words by placing the word “Trouble” in parentheses following the name Achar.

Who transgressed in the matter of the devoted thing: The Hebrew word translated transgressed becomes a keyword in 1–2 Chronicles to explain the reason for the exile. Along with neighboring countries, the Israelites followed the holy-war practice of devoting everyone and everything to the god or gods whom the people worshiped. This devotion to the deity required the total destruction of everything captured in war (see Josh 6.17). Achar kept some of the plunder from Jericho and therefore was guilty of transgressing what the people were supposed to do. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente renders this clause as “because he took for himself part of the booty consecrated to God.” Some other possible models are “by violating the ban” (New American Bible) and “because he took things that had been given to the LORD to be destroyed” (New Century Version).

La Biblia: Traducción en Lenguaje Actual provides a possible model for the whole verse by making explicit the exact nature of Achar’s transgression as follows:

• Carmi, great-grandson of Zerah, had a son, Achar.
On one occasion, God punished all the people of Israel because of Achar’s transgression. When Joshua conquered Ai, God ordered him to destroy everything. Nobody was to take anything that was in the city, but Achar did not obey, and he took away some objects.

If La Biblia: Traducción en Lenguaje Actual‘s rendering is considered too much of a paraphrase, then the information regarding Joshua and Ai may be put in a footnote.

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 sons of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal: Sons here must be understood in the sense of “descendants” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version, New American Bible, Complete Jewish Bible), since only Perez in this list was a son of Judah. Hezron was a son of Perez (see 1 Chr 2.5) and grandson of Judah. Carmi was the son of Zimri and the grandson of Zerah, who was one of Judah’s sons. Probably Zabdi is the same person as Zimri, a son of Zerah (see 1 Chr 2.6). Hur was the son of Caleb (see 1 Chr 2.19), and grandson of Hezron. Shobal was the son of Hur (see 1 Chr 2.50). Good News Translation begins this verse with “These are some of the descendants of Judah…,” since a literal translation of the Hebrew will not express the correct relationships in English. The addition of the words “some of” is intended to highlight the fact that the list does not include all the descendants of Judah. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides another model for trying to make these relationships clear to modern readers by rendering this verse as follows: “The descendants of Judah through his son Perez were in direct line: Hezron, Carmi, Hur, Shobal.” But this translation is not recommended, because these descendants are not in a direct line of descent.

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 .

They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor: The Hebrew word translated entrance indicates that the movement was in the direction of Gedor and very close to it. New International Version uses the common English word “outskirts,” while Revised English Bible has “approaches.” Others may prefer to say “point just outside.” Good News Translation adds the word “westward,” which highlights information that would have been understood by the original readers based on the geographical names used and the rest of the context.

As the footnote in Good News Translation indicates, the Masoretic Text reads Gedor, which is followed by many translations (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The Septuagint has “Gerar” (also Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt, Osty-Trinquet). The town of Gerar was on the southwest border of Canaan in the desert area (see Gen 20.1; 26.17). Gedor, on the other hand, is less appropriate to the context from a geographical point of view. There are two biblical sites by the name Gedor. One, mentioned in 1 Chr 4.18, was a Calebite town mentioned with Soco and Zanoah and was probably located south of Hebron. The other was in the territory of Benjamin and is mentioned as the place from where two of David’s followers came (1 Chr 12.7). Nevertheless, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {D} rating to Gedor.

To the east side of the valley: If the text is corrected to read “Gerar,” then the valley may refer to the Gerar Valley (see Gen 26.17). Good News Translation provides a helpful model for this whole phrase, saying “on the eastern side of the valley in which that city is located.”

To seek pasture for their flocks: Since the word flocks may be too general in English, Good News Translation and International Children’s Bible say specifically “sheep” (also Bible en français courant). The Hebrew word for flocks may refer to sheep or to both sheep and goats, so Contemporary English Version says “flocks and herds.”

In Revised Standard Version the sentence that starts in this verse continues in verse 40. But it is probably better in most languages to make a break at the end of this verse, as in Good News Translation, New International Version, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and other versions.

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 .

Amariah (verse 11): A High Priest by this name served during the time that Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah (2 Chr 19.11), but this could not be the same person if the Azariah of verse 10 is the one mentioned in 2 Chr 26. Both of these names are quite common, so positive identification is not possible.

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 .

Revised Standard Version and many other English versions begin this verse with the connector but to render the common Hebrew conjunction. Good News Translation conveys the contrast with the word “however” later in the sentence. The contrast should be marked in one way or another.

The fields of the city and its villages: The distinction between fields in this verse and “pasture lands” in the previous verse is important. The Hebrew word for “pasture lands” refers to open land where livestock could graze. The word translated fields is a more general term, used of cultivated land or potential agricultural land belonging to or attached to a particular town. In many languages it may difficult to find two separate terms, but it is important to do so since the text will sound contradictory otherwise (see Euan Fry’s article on this topic in The Bible Translator).

Larger walled towns often were surrounded by small villages that were not protected by walls. The people who lived in these villages often provided military support to the walled towns and went there for protection when they were attacked. Archaeological evidence indicates that the villages were often no more than one or two acres in size.

They gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Good News Translation uses a passive verb here (“were assigned”), and this certainly conveys the idea of the text. However, in those languages where the passive form is not an option, it will be necessary to follow the form of the Hebrew with an impersonal third person plural or to turn the sentence around by saying “Caleb … received the fields and villages….” For Caleb the son of Jephunneh, see 1 Chr 4.15.

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 .