All these, who were chosen as gatekeepers at the thresholds, were two hundred and twelve: The demonstrative pronoun these refers to Shallum and the Temple guards already mentioned. The passive expression were chosen will have to be made active in certain languages. Since the agent is not specified in the text, it may be necessary to use an indefinite expression such as “they chose.” The figure two hundred and twelve does not correspond to the one given for the Temple guards in the parallel text of Neh 11.19, but this may be due to a different way of calculating or a different criteria for which categories of guards were included. For this whole sentence Revised English Bible has “Those picked to be door-keepers numbered two hundred and twelve in all.” Revised English Bible follows the ancient Syriac, which reads “numbered” rather than at the thresholds. Translators should follow the Masoretic Text here, although the meaning is the same. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text.

They were enrolled by genealogies in their villages: This sentence seems to mean more than the Good News Translation rendering suggests. Good News Translation seems to mean that the Temple guards chose where to live and then were registered as living there. But the intended meaning is probably that these guards were living in the villages that had been given to their clans at the time of Joshua. That is, they were living in the villages where their ancestors had lived, according to the genealogical records. Like the previous verb, the passive verb were enrolled may have to be transformed into an active one. For villages see the comments on verse 16.

David and Samuel the seer established them in their office of trust: According to 1 Sam 25.1, Samuel died before David became king. Samuel the seer is, of course, “the prophet Samuel” (Good News Translation). The same Hebrew word for seer is used of Samuel again in 1 Chr 26.28 and 29.29. The word seer translates two different Hebrew words in 1–2 Chronicles. The word here (and in 2 Chr 16.7, 10) comes from the root rʾh, which means “to see” or “to perceive.” This may mean that the prophet’s revelation came in the form of a vision or dream, but sometimes the context does not support this view. The second Hebrew word comes from the root chzh, which also means “to see” or “to perceive.” This word describes Gad in 1 Chr 21.9 and 29.29 and Heman in 25.5. The same word occurs also in 2 Chr 9.29; 12.15; 19.2; 29.25, 30; 33.18-19; 35.15. Translators do not need to find two different words or expressions in the receptor language for these two different Hebrew nouns. Both terms focus on the subjective element of receiving a revelation from God, of perceiving that which other people cannot see. The Hebrew noun usually translated “prophet” focuses more on the work of the person who speaks on behalf of God, without focusing on the manner in which that person receives the revelation or message from God. It may be very difficult for some translators to find an adequate equivalent for the word seer. An expression such as “person who sees” should probably be avoided, since the meaning is rather a person who sees beyond what ordinary people see. Such a person was thought to have deep spiritual insight. Some languages may say “person who sees the affairs of God.”

The pronouns them and their in the last sentence of this verse do not refer to the guards at the time of the writing of the book of 1 Chronicles, but to their ancestors. This is quite clear from the historical reference to David and Samuel. It will be better in most languages to translate the pronoun them as “their ancestors” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Bible en français courant).

The phrase their office of trust highlights the importance of the Temple guards’ responsibility. The Hebrew noun rendered office of trust, which occurs also in verses 26 and 31, is sometimes translated “steadfastness,” “faithfulness,” or “honesty.” The meaning of in their office of trust has been expressed in a variety of ways in modern versions; for example, “because of their dependability” (New Jerusalem Bible), “because they were trustworthy” (Revised English Bible), and “because they were reliable men” (New Living Translation). The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament: Study Edition by Koehler, Baumgartner, and Stamm (HALOT) gives the meaning “permanent official duty” to the Hebrew word here. This understanding of the word is the basis for the translation “in their permanent responsibility” (Nouvelle Bible Segond; similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible).

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 .

All the valiant men arose is literally “And every valiant man arose.” Good News Translation does not preserve the emphasis that all the brave men went. But New American Bible keeps it by saying “its warriors rose to a man.” “To a man” emphasizes that every warrior went. There is no apparent reason for omitting this detail. Valiant men refers to the most courageous warriors, who were usually involved in military matters. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente calls them “soldiers.” The Hebrew verb rendered arose does not necessarily mean that the men were sitting or lying down. It means they “set out” (Holman Christian Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, Moffatt, La Bible du Semeur, Osty-Trinquet), but New Revised Standard Version says they “got up.” New Century Version, like Good News Translation, says simply they “went.” The parallel text in 1 Sam 31.12 says the men traveled all night. The distance was about 32 kilometers (20 miles).

And took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh: As noted in the comments on 1 Chr 10.8, a word such as “corpse” or “cadaver” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) may be used to refer to the dead bodies of Saul and his sons.

And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh: The parallel in 1 Sam 31.12 says that they first burned the corpses, but the writer here does not include that information and it should not be added. According to current experts, the Hebrew word for oak should be translated “terebinth” (so Bible en français courant, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Braun, Osty-Trinquet). Other translations include “great tree” (New International Version) and “tamarisk” (New Jerusalem Bible, La Bible du Semeur). The name of the tree is not the same as that in the parallel in 1 Sam 31.12. Some interpreters suggest that a particular tree that was well known is intended here since the definite article the is used with this tree. But the use of the definite article in Hebrew is different from English usage. Hebrew sometimes uses a definite article when English would use an indefinite article. So although Revised Standard Version uses the definite article, the meaning may simply be “a terebinth.” If the species of the tree is transliterated, it will be helpful to add the classifier “tree,” for example, “a terebinth tree.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says simply “a large tree,” without indicating what kind of tree.

And fasted seven days: Fasting is practiced in many cultures today, and often a well-known word exists to translate the Hebrew term. Fasting consisted of a voluntary and temporary abstinence from eating food for religious reasons such as repentance, mourning, and prayer. Here they did it because they mourned the deaths of Saul and his sons. Other ways of translating fasted include “went without eating to show their sorrow” (Contemporary English Version) and “as a sign of sorrow, fasted” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente; similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Seven days may also be rendered “a whole week long” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

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 .

Pirathon (verse 31) was a town in the territory of Ephraim (Jdg 12.15).

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 .

This verse refers not just to new soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh, but rather is a summary statement of verses 1-22. The Hebrew word translated For may also be rendered “Indeed.”

From day to day men kept coming to David to help him: In many languages from day to day will be more naturally expressed as “each day” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or “day after day” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond). Men kept coming is literally “they were coming.” Others translate “the people were coming” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) and “reinforcements reached” (New Jerusalem Bible). Of course, it was not the same men who kept coming to David but more and more new recruits. For this reason it may be better in some languages to say “new men came” (Contemporary English Version) or to speak of “more men” (New Century Version) or “reinforcements” (Complete Jewish Bible).

Until there was a great army, like an army of God: The Hebrew expression rendered of God may be taken as a superlative meaning “very large” (so NET Bible). This is the basis for the Good News Translation rendering “so that his army was soon enormous” (similarly Bible en français courant, La Bible de Jérusalem: Nouvelle édition revue et corrigée, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Compare “until he had gathered an immense army” (Revised English Bible) and “until the camp became as the largest camp” (American Bible). But since the writer consistently understands God as fighting against the enemies of Israel by means of the army of Israel, the meaning is more likely that David’s army was indeed God’s army (see 2 Chr 13.13-18; 14.9-15).

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 .

Glory in his holy name: The Hebrew verb rendered Glory is second person plural. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible render this verb as “Be proud.” Good News Translation says “Be glad” since it takes the Hebrew verb to indicate not just pride but happiness as well since the verb is used in parallel with the verb rejoice. His holy name refers to Yahweh’s character revealed to his people in choosing them and making them his own. For this whole line La Bible du Semeur has “Be proud of him, for he is very holy!” Bible en français courant says “Be proud of him, the only true God.” Perhaps the meaning of the Hebrew is best expressed by saying “Be proud of what the holy God has done!”

Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice: Hearts is literally “heart.” English requires the plural hearts, but in some languages it will be natural to use the singular “heart” as the Hebrew does. Here the word hearts stands for the persons who seek God. In some languages it will be unnatural to speak of hearts seeking God, so it will be necessary to render this line as “let the people who seek the LORD rejoice.” Revised English Bible attempts to retain something of the original by translating “let those who seek the LORD be joyful in heart.” The Hebrew verb rendered seek is the same one used in the second line of the next verse (see the comments there). In this context seek the LORD means to go and worship the LORD (so Good News 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 .

And Nathan said to David: Since Nathan’s words are spoken in response to David’s initial statement, it may be better to translate said as “answered” (Good News Translation, International Children’s Bible, Revised English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “replied” (Contemporary English Version, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible).

Do all that is in your heart: In Hebrew thought the heart was the location of the intellect and the will, not the location of emotions. Different cultures express this differently. In English the “mind” is the equivalent term here. For this whole clause New Revised Standard Version has “Do all that you have in mind,” and Moffatt says “Do whatever is in your mind.”

For God is with you: This clause explains the reason for Nathan’s answer. The fact of God’s presence was considered sufficient reason to go ahead with the project David had in mind. However, subsequent events shed new light on the situation.

In some languages it may be more natural to restructure Nathan’s response by saying something like “Because God is with you, I encourage you to do whatever it is that you want to do.” In other languages the direct quotation may be rendered as indirect discourse. A possible model for the whole verse that does this is:

• Nathan responded by telling David to do whatever he intended to do, because God was with David.

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 .

In Revised Standard Version this verse is a temporal subordinate clause that introduces what is said in verses 10-11. Good News Translation has made it into a separate sentence (so also New Century Version, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). It still sets the stage for what follows, but is grammatically independent. This is probably a good model for many other languages to follow here.

When Tou king of Hamath heard: Tou (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant) is spelled “Toi” in 2 Sam 8.9. Good News Translation uses the spelling “Toi” here for the sake of consistency (so also Die Bibel: Hoffnung für alle). The small kingdom of Hamath, mentioned in verse 3, was located between Zobah and the Euphrates River. So it is likely that the people of this area endured suffering at the hands of Hadadezer and his army (see verse 10). This would explain why their king was pleased that David had defeated Hadadezer.

That David had defeated the whole army of Hadadezer, king of Zobah: The Hebrew rendered defeated could also mean “killed,” as in 1 Chr 18.5. But few versions follow this interpretation here. Since Hadadezer has been identified as king of Zobah already in verses 3 and 5 above, the phrase king of Zobah may be left implicit at the end of this verse (so Good News 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 .

And there was again war at Gath: As in verse 5, this expression marks another episode in the section. It will be important in some languages to make it clear that this war was “still another battle” (New International Version), distinct from those in verses 4 and 5.

Where there was a man of great stature: A man of great stature may be rendered “a large man” ( NET Bible) or “a man of great size” (Klein).

Who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number is literally “and his fingers six and six twenty-four.” The Hebrew leaves implied that the second number refers to the toes, but this should probably be spelled out in most languages as it is in most English versions. The summary statement twenty-four in number may not work well in certain languages that have totally different terms for fingers and toes. They may have to say “twelve fingers and twelve toes.” But in other languages it will be perfectly natural to summarize in this way since the same word is used for the digits on the hand or on the feet. Contemporary English Version leaves the overall total implicit, saying only “six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.”

And he also was descended from the giants: The giants is literally “the giant” (King James Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible). See the comments on 1 Chr 20.4. According to texts such as Deut 2.10-11, these giants were a race that existed in the distant past. Therefore Good News Translation says “the ancient giants.” It is possible to say “the Rapha” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), reflecting the singular form in the Hebrew. Some interpreters understand the Hebrew word for the giants as a proper noun; for example, New Jerusalem Bible renders this whole clause as “He too was a son of Rapha” (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond), and NET Bible says “He too was a descendant of Rapha.”

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 .