Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 16:27

Honor and majesty are before him: Yahweh as king possesses Honor and majesty, the two greatest attributes of a king. Before him may be translated “surround him” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation). Another possible translation of this whole line is “He radiates greatness and majesty” (Bible en français courant). Revised English Bible says “Majesty and splendour attend him,” using the verb “attend” to represent majesty and splendor as royal servants that wait on Yahweh.

Strength and joy are in his place: A literal rendering of the words his place may fail to express the intended meaning. The parallel text in Psa 96.6 reads “his sanctuary,” which New Jerusalem Bible also uses here. New American Bible says “his holy place,” and Good News Translation has “his Temple.”

The major translation problem in this verse is the handling of the abstract nouns Honor, majesty, strength and joy as though they were objects. In languages that permit passive expressions, it is possible to say “Glory and majesty can be seen around him; his power and joy can be observed in his Temple.” Where the passive is not possible, a possible model is “People in his presence can see how great and like a king he is; the things in his Temple remind people that he is strong and causes joy.”

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 17:20

There is none like thee, O LORD: In some languages it will be impossible to translate none without making a specific comparison with inanimate objects, animals, humans, or supernatural beings. It is clear that the comparison being made here is with other deities.

And there is no God besides thee may be rendered “you are the only [true] God.”

According to all that we have heard with our ears is literally “in all that we have heard with our ears.” But many translations change the Hebrew preposition for “in” (be) to read “according to” (ke; so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version). The Hebrew letters for “b” and “k” are very similar in shape. We have heard with our ears is redundant and may sound quite unnatural in some languages since hearing is impossible without ears. If so, the words with our ears may be left for the reader to supply.

A possible model for this verse is:

• LORD, there is no other god like you. In fact, you are the only God. This is what we have always heard and known.

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 19:8

When David heard of it is literally “And David heard.” But most languages will require an object for the verb “to hear.” Some may prefer to say “When David heard the news” ( NET Bible) or “On hearing this, David” (New International Version). Revised English Bible provides another possible model, using the passive form: “When this was reported to David.”

He sent Joab and all the army of the mighty men: The verb sent clearly implies that Joab and the Israelite army were sent to fight the Ammonites. All the army of the mighty men is literally “every army, the mighty men.” Usually the expression the mighty men suggests a special group of well-trained men or professional soldiers, while all the army refers to the entire fighting force of Israel. But here the two appear to be in apposition. Perhaps the two expressions are best understood by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, which says “the whole army, [including] the professional fighters.” But the square brackets are not recommended. New Revised Standard Version has the same essential meaning, saying “all the army of the warriors.” However, when one says “the entire army,” the special forces would be included. For this whole clause Bible en français courant has “he despatched General Joab with all the regular army to the place.” Other possible models are “he ordered Joab and the entire army to march” and “he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them” ( NET Bible).

Some translators may wish to restructure this brief verse to say “When David heard what the Ammonites were doing, he sent the whole army of Israel with Joab at its head to fight them” or “… despatched all the Israelite soldiers and their commander, Joab.”

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 19:19

And when the servants of Hadadezer saw …: The servants of Hadadezer were subjects of Hadadezer, but people of such high status that they can not be referred to as “servants” in many cultures. They might be called “followers” or “supporters” of Hadadezer. International Children’s Bible says “officers.” A number of versions call them “vassals” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but this translation seems to harmonize the text with the parallel in 2 Sam 10.19, which refers to “the kings who were servants of Hadadezer.” Good News Translation and Bible en français courant both say “the kings who were subject to Hadadezer.” Once again the verb saw may be better understood if translated “realized” (Good News Translation), “became aware,” “knew,” or “understood.”

That they had been defeated by Israel: This passive expression can be easily transformed into an active form, and this should probably be done in many languages. One possible model that does this is “that the Israelites had defeated them.”

They made peace with David: The immediate context shows that this event involved accepting the terms of peace dictated by David’s victorious army. In some languages the proper expression here will be “they begged for peace with David,” “they sat in peace with David,” or “they gave up fighting David.”

And became subject to him means they lived under the rule and authority of David and his kingdom.

So the Syrians were not willing to help the Ammonites any more: So translates the common Hebrew conjunction. It introduces the result of the military victory by the people of Israel. This conjunction introduces a final note in the story of the Syrians’ relationship to Israel. Because of Israel’s victory, the Syrians were not willing to help the Ammonites any more. This sentence takes the reader back to verses 6 and 7, where the Ammonites hired Syrian troops to help them fight against Israel. The Hebrew verb translated were not willing indicates a conscious decision on the part of the Syrians. Any more is literally “again” (New Century Version, Revised English Bible). An alternative model for this whole clause is “The Syrians decided that they would never again help the Ammonites.”

Some editions of Good News Translation make the final sentence of this chapter verse 20. But the Hebrew, the Septuagint and the Vulgate, as well as virtually all translations other than Good News Translation, make it a part of verse 19 and have no verse 20. The Good News Translation error should not be repeated in other languages.

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 21:25

So translates the common Hebrew conjunction. Some translators may prefer to leave it untranslated or to render it “And” as in Good News Translation, but most will probably prefer to render it as a logical connector as Revised Standard Version has done.

David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site: According to the parallel text of 2 Sam 24.24, David paid fifty shekels of silver. The value of the shekel was different at different times in Israel’s history, and there were different rates used for different purposes, so perhaps this explains the difference in amounts paid according to 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. But in any case, six hundred shekels of gold would have been a huge amount. No doubt this extremely large amount is intended to reflect the splendor and magnificence of the future Temple. Rather than keep the unknown idea of shekels, translators may say simply “six hundred gold coins” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Versión Internacional). Or the approximate weight may be given. Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, for example, has “almost seven kilos of gold,” and God’s Word says “15 pounds of gold.” David bought the site of the threshing floor and not just the threshing floor itself.

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 23:10 - 23:11

And the sons of Shime-i: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shime-i: The Shime-i named here was the son of Gershon (see verse 7). It seems strange that four sons of Shimei are listed since the preceding verse listed the sons of Shimei as three, and with different names from the four named here. On the assumption that Shime-i is incorrectly written for the name “Shelomoth” (Shimei’s first son according to verse 9), Moffatt corrects the Hebrew text to read “Shelomoth had four sons, Jahath, Ziza, Jeush, and Beriah.” There is no manuscript basis for this correction, but it does eliminate an exegetical difficulty.

The name Zina in verse 10 occurs only here in the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint and the Vulgate change this name to read “Ziza” in agreement with the spelling of the same person’s name in verse 11. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the name Zina and suggests that translators should not change the spelling to agree with that in verse 11. However, a number of translations follow the Septuagint in reading “Ziza” or “Zizah” here (so New International Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Nueva Versión Internacional). Other translations apparently read “Ziza” in order to harmonize the spelling with the next verse, that is, it is a translation decision rather than a textual decision (so New Century Version, La Bible du Semeur, La Bible Pléiade). Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version avoid the textual difficulty by restructuring and combining verses 10 and 11.

Jahath was the chief: For the Hebrew noun rendered chief, see the comments on 1 Chr 23.8. In verses 8, 11 and 16-20, New Living Translation translates this noun as “family leader,” and this may be a good model for other languages.

But Jeush and Beriah had not many sons: The Hebrew probably refers specifically to sons, but it is possible to translate sons as “children” (Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “descendants” (Good News Translation). Menge gives the two possibilities in the translation itself, saying “sons (or: children).” But if translators want to show that two possible renderings exist, it is better to put one rendering in the text and the other in a footnote.

Therefore they became a father’s house in one reckoning: Therefore renders the common Hebrew conjunction, which is literally “and.” Here it introduces the result of Jeush and Beriah having so few sons. It is because they were few in number that they were considered as a single clan. Others translate this conjunction as “so” (New International Version, New Century Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The context seems to require a logical connector of this type. They became a father’s house in one reckoning means the descendants of Jeush and Beriah were considered equivalent to one clan instead of two. Apparently the two families were merged into one. New Revised Standard Version says “they were enrolled as a single family,” El libro del Pueblo de Dios reads “they were registered in the census as a single family,” and NET Bible has “they were considered one family with one responsibility” (similarly Revised English Bible). New Living Translation provides a possible model that restructures the last half of verse 11 as follows: “Jeush and Beriah were counted as a single family because neither had many sons.”

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 24:14 - 24:15

Happizzez (verse 15) is mentioned only here in the Old Testament. His name is transliterated “Aphses” in Revised English Bible, King James Version and Knox (following the Septuagint and the Vulgate), but all other translations say “Happizzez.”

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 26:13

And they cast lots by fathers’ houses: See 1 Chr 24.5, 31 and 25.8. The lots were cast according to ancestral groupings. Unlike other places where lots were cast to determine the order in which the various groups were to serve at the Temple, these lots were cast to determine which gates each group would guard. It is not clear whether the casting of lots also determined the number of guards posted at each gate. The casting of the lots was done by fathers’ houses, that is, “family by family” (Revised English Bible).

Small and great alike: See the comments on 1 Chr 25.8. This phrase may refer to the numerical size of the families (so Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible). Some versions take it as referring to the age of the individuals (so New International Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). New International Version, for example, says “young and old alike.” However, others take it as a reference to social status (so La Bible du Semeur, quoted below). All three of these interpretations are possible, so translators must simply choose among the possible meanings.

For their gates is literally “for gate and gate.” Not even Revised Standard Version or King James Version gives a literal translation of this Hebrew idiom. King James Version is perhaps closer to the intended meaning with “for every gate.”

La Bible du Semeur provides a helpful model for this verse, saying “They cast lots, for the responsibility of each gate, between the different groups of families, without any distinction between those of high rank and those of rank of little importance.”

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 .