But when all Jabesh-gilead heard …: But renders the common Hebrew conjunction. New Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation, and English Standard Version also have “But,” while King James Version and the New King James Version [New King James Version ] use “And.” Either connector is appropriate in this context. However, most other modern versions omit this conjunction since it serves only to connect verse 11 with what goes before it.

Instead of all Jabesh-gilead, the parallel text in 1 Sam 31.11 reads “the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead.” New Jerusalem Bible corrects the Hebrew here to follow the parallel in 1 Samuel by saying “the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead.” But there is no reason to change the Hebrew, since the text may be rendered “the people of Jabesh in Gilead” for translational reasons (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). According to 1 Sam 11, Saul had rescued the people of Jabesh from the Ammonites at the beginning of his reign. The name Jabesh-gilead is better translated “Jabesh in Gilead” or “the city of Jabesh in the region of Gilead.” Jabesh was one of the main Israelite cities east of the Jordan River. It was located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from Jerusalem.

Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation treat verse 11 as a temporal clause. In some languages it may be better to make this verse a complete sentence; for example, Bible en français courant says “The people of Jabesh, in Gilead, learned all that the Philistines had done to Saul” (similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

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 .

Netophah (verse 30) was a town in the hill country of Judah, near Bethlehem. Heled appears as “Heleb” in 2 Sam 23.29, showing that the final letter has been confused by the writer of 1 Chronicles or by a scribe, but translators generally retain the difference in the original.

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 helped David against the band of raiders: As the footnote in Good News Translation indicates, this clause may be translated two different ways, and versions are rather evenly divided. The Hebrew preposition translated against may also be rendered “over” as in Good News Translation, so the two possible interpretations are as follows:

• (1) If the preposition is translated against, then the clause means the soldiers from Manasseh helped David’s troops fight a group of raiders. Compare “They assisted David against the raiding bands” (Braun; similarly New International Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, Reina-Valera revisada). American Bible says “They aided David against the marauders.” The band of raiders most likely refers to the Amalekites who burned Ziklag while David and his men were away (see 1 Sam 30).

• (2) If the preposition is translated “over,” then the sense is that the soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh helped David (as officers) over David’s own troops, referred to in verse 18 (so Contemporary English Version, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Segond, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

For they were all mighty men of valor: The transition word for (Good News Translation “because”) introduces the reason why the soldiers from Manasseh helped David, whichever meaning is understood. The status of these men as “good fighters” (Revised English Bible) explains why they were capable of leading David’s troops or why they were able to fight against the enemy troops.

And were commanders in the army: Good News Translation takes this clause to mean that these men eventually became leaders in the Israelite army and not that they had already attained this status when the defected to David. For this reason Good News Translation begins with “Later they were officers….” New Living Translation follows the same interpretation by saying “who became commanders in his army.”

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 .

Sing to him, sing praises to him: In Hebrew this line has two synonymous second person plural verbs for “sing.” In this context they most likely refer to the music of singers and instruments. The Hebrew verb rendered sing praises often refers to the music of a stringed instrument, but also of a percussion instrument. It often refers to singing accompanied by a musical instrument. La Bible de Jérusalem: Nouvelle édition revue et corrigée and Osty-Trinquet render this line as “Sing to him, play for him” (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond). Parole de Vie brings out the nature of the second verb more clearly, saying “play for him on your instruments.” Good News Translation has expressed the two commands with one verb by saying “Sing praise to the LORD” (similarly Contemporary English Version), but this fails to bring out the likely meaning of the second verb. Other versions take the second verb to mean “sing psalms” (King James Version, Nouvelle version Segond révisée). In some languages it will be important to render the first pronoun in this verse as “the LORD” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)

Tell of all his wonderful works: This line basically repeats what was said in the second line of the previous verse. The people are exhorted to proclaim the great deeds of God in the history of Israel. Tell translates a Hebrew verb whose precise meaning is uncertain. In some contexts it seems to mean “to speak loudly and enthusiastically.” In other contexts it seems to mean “to meditate with thanks and praise.” Some other possible renderings here are “proclaim” (New American Bible) or “sing” (New Jerusalem Bible). Another interpretation of the verb used here is “meditate” (Osty-Trinquet, Braun, Klein). His wonderful works translates a Hebrew participle. The root refers to something that people consider to be extraordinary and wonderful. It may refer to “his miracles” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), but such a translation here may be too narrowly focused. Other translations include “his marvellous deeds” (Revised English Bible) and “his wondrous deeds” (New American 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 .

Now renders the Hebrew verbal transition that is sometimes translated “And it came to pass” or “And it came about” (New American Standard Bible). But most modern English versions omit it since the same function is performed by the use of section headings and/or the introduction of a new paragraph. It serves only to show that a new topic is now under consideration.

When David dwelt in his house: Since this verse is the beginning of a new chapter and a new section, Good News Translation identifies David more specifically as “King David.” In some languages it is more natural to refer to the house where a king lives as the “palace” (Good News Translation, Moffatt, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Others may refer to it as the “big house” or the “king-house.” David’s palace was built of cedar wood from Lebanon supplied by Hiram, the ruler of Tyre (see 2 Sam 5.11). Some translators may wish to begin this verse with something like “After King David had moved into his palace.”

David said to Nathan the prophet: Even though the Hebrew text repeats the proper name David here, it will be more natural to translate this second occurrence with a pronoun in most languages. For Nathan see the introductory comments on this section [1 Chr 17.1-15].

Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar: The Hebrew focusing particle rendered Behold is often left untranslated. However, some versions attempt to convey its meaning by starting with the imperative “Look” (New Century Version) or “See” (New American Bible). Its purpose here is to draw attention to what David is about to say. A number of other versions attempt to convey this meaning by beginning the sentence with the word “Here” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

For cedar see the comments on 1 Chr 14.1. It was customary in the Near East to build palaces and temples of cedar because cedar was durable against rot and insects and could be polished to a high sheen (see 2 Sam 5.11; 1 Kgs 5.6). New Living Translation highlights the fact that this kind of wood is “beautiful.” In languages where the cedar tree does not exist, the term may either be borrowed or be translated in a more generic fashion. A house of cedar may be rendered “a palace made from cedar” ( NET Bible), “a house made of durable wood,” or “a beautiful strong wooden house.” Some interpreters argue that the word house should be read as definite in Hebrew rather than indefinite, as in most versions. If this interpretation is followed, then the reference is more clearly to David’s palace, which was “the house of cedar” in Jerusalem.

But the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent: See 2 Sam 6.17; 1 Chr 15.1. David was concerned that, while he was living in luxury in his palace, the Covenant Box was left in a mere tent. The Hebrew word translated tent usually means “tent curtains” (made from goat hair). In this context it may simply refer to the tent itself, but some translations retain the idea of tent curtains (so Moffatt, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Knoppers). The Hebrew here says that the tent was under the curtains, while the parallel text in 2 Sam 7.2 says that the tent was inside tent curtains. Perhaps the intended sense is that the tent was under a tent curtain with no sides.

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 from Tibhath and from Cun, cities of Hadadezer: The city of Tibhath is sometimes called “Tebah” (so here in New International Version) and, perhaps by transposing the consonants, “Betah” (2 Sam 8.8). The relationship between the noun cities and the name Hadadezer should be clearly expressed. This may be done in various ways; for example, Good News Translation says “cities ruled by Hadadezer,” and Bible en français courant has “two cities of Hadadezer’s kingdom.”

David took very much bronze: Since David took items made of gold in the previous verse, the sense of this verse is that he “also” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant) took bronze. For bronze see the comments on 1 Chr 15.19.

With it Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of bronze: Because this information is not an essential part of the story of David, it will be appropriate in some languages to enclose it in parentheses or otherwise set it off as an aside. Since Solomon did not immediately make the Temple items listed here, some versions say that he “later” used the bronze to make them (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). They also add that he made them “for the Temple.” The bronze sea was a huge basin made of bronze and supported by twelve statues of bulls (see 1 Kgs 7.23-26; 2 Chr 4.2-5). It was placed in the southeast corner of the Temple courtyard. The priests used water from the bronze tank for ritual washings. For a good description of this tank, see WTH, pages 243-244|fig:WTH.4.3.2.Temple – Sea, tank.243-244.html. A literal translation of the bronze sea will be meaningless in some languages. New Century Version says “the large bronze bowl, which was called the Sea.” Others may prefer to say “the large bronze basin.” The pillars were two bronze columns that stood at the entrance to the Temple (see 1 Kgs 7.15-22; 2 Chr 3.15-17). For a good description of these columns, see WTH, pages 152-156|fig:WTH.column, pillar, capital.152-155.html. The vessels of bronze refers to the bronze instruments used in the Temple (see 1 Kgs 7.45; 2 Chr 4.16).

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 with the Philistines: This clause marks yet another episode in the list of battles against the giants. In some languages it may be important to indicate clearly that this event took place “Later” (New Century Version); that is, some time after the events described in verse 4. Bible en français courant takes a different approach, beginning this verse with the words “In the course of another battle against the Philistines.”

And Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite: Jair is called “Jaareoregim” in the parallel passage of 2 Sam 21.19. Many modern versions change the name in 2 Samuel to agree with the name here. According to 2 Sam 21.19, Elhanan killed Goliath himself and not the brother of Goliath as here in 1 Chronicles. And to add to the confusion, according to 1 Sam 17, David is presented as the killer of Goliath. Some interpreters explain the obvious contradiction in the traditional Hebrew text by maintaining that it is defective in 2 Sam 21.19 because copyists made two or three crucial errors. They contend that the original text of 2 Sam 21.19 read as the parallel here in 1 Chronicles. However, such a text has never been discovered and translators are obliged to translate the texts as they exist today. This means translating something that is contrary to the other passages mentioned. An explanatory footnote is acceptable, but there is no sufficient evidence for translators to change and harmonize the text at this point.

According to 2 Sam 21.19, the father of Elhanan was a “Bethlehemite” (beth hallachmi in Hebrew), that is, from Bethlehem. Some interpreters think that the Masoretic Text contains a mistake here in 1 Chronicles in which beth hallachmi was read incorrectly as ʾeth lachmi (= sign of the direct object plus the name Lahmi). Therefore La Bible Pléiade and La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous change the text to read “and Elhanan, son of Jair, of Bethlehem, killed the brother of Goliath of Gath” (similarly NET Bible).

The Gittites were inhabitants of the Philistine city of Gath (see the comments on 1 Chr 7.21). The meaning of Goliath the Gittite will be more clearly expressed as “Goliath of Gath” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, El libro del Pueblo de Dios) or “Goliath, who was from the town of Gath” (New Century Version).

The shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam: Compare 1 Sam 17.7. For spear see the comments on 1 Chr 11.11. In the parallel text of 2 Sam 21.19, Goliath’s spear is in view. The Hebrew is ambiguous here, as are most literal translations; but the reference here seems to be to “Lahmi’s spear” (New Living Translation, International Children’s Bible, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje) and not to that of Goliath. For weaver’s beam, see the comments on 1 Chr 11.23. Most interpreters think the size of Lahmi’s spear is being compared to the thickness of a weaver’s beam (so Good News Translation with “whose spear had a shaft as thick as the bar on a weaver’s loom”). However, a different interpretation is possible. Archaeological evidence indicates that some spears, or javelins, had a loop of cord attached to the end of them to help the soldier throw the spear farther and with more accuracy. This loop of cord resembled the loop of cord tied to the piece of wood (a heddle-rod) used to lift alternate threads on a loom while weaving. The New American Bible translation is based on this second interpretation: “whose spear shaft was like a weaver’s heddle-bar.”

The first interpretation understands the comparison of the spear and the weaver’s beam to be that of size, that is, “as thick as” (Good News Translation). The second interpretation, which is more probable, understands the comparison to be the loops of cord, which allowed the spear to be thrown with greater accuracy. If the second interpretation is followed, it may be necessary to explain the basis of the comparison by saying “the shaft of his spear had a loop of cord around it, like that on a weaver’s beam, in order to throw it further and more accurately.”

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 .

For (also New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) translates the common Hebrew conjunction. In this context For is an appropriate translation since verses 29 and 30 explain why David offered sacrifices at the threshing floor of Ornan rather than at Gibeon. Apparently, David had planned to go to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, but the presence of the LORD’s angel caused him to offer sacrifices at the place that God chose for the building of the Temple.

The tabernacle of the LORD … and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon: See the comments on 1 Chr 6.49 and 16.39. Other translations for the high place include “the place of worship” (Good News Translation, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje) and “the worship center” ( NET 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 .