And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah …: Abishai is literally “Abshai” here and throughout 1 Chronicles (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Knoppers), but nearly all translations harmonize with the spelling in 1–2 Samuel, which is “Abishai.” A literal translation of the son of Zeruiah will incorrectly suggest to most readers that Zeruiah was the father of Abishai. According to 1 Chr 2.16, Zeruiah was a woman, and 2 Sam 17.25 indicates that she was the mother of Joab, the brother of Abishai, so Good News Translation renders this phrase as “whose mother was Zeruiah.” This translation avoids the possible misunderstanding that Zeruiah might have been the father which would be commonly assumed in many languages on the basis of a literal translation.

Slew eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt: Compare 2 Kgs 14.7 and the Hebrew title of Psa 60. New Revised Standard Version renders slew as “killed.” The Hebrew verb here may also be taken in the sense of “defeated” (New American Standard Bible), but probably it is best to understand it as referring to widespread killing. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant use both verbs to convey the meaning. The location of the Valley of Salt is unknown, but there are several possibilities to the south or southwest of the Dead Sea. The problem for the translator is to determine the relationship between Valley and Salt. The idea hidden by the preposition of is probably that the valley was a place where salt deposits and brackish water were found. Such places were unfavorable to agricultural pursuits and were usually considered to be unfit for human beings to live in (see Deut 29.23; Job 39.6; Jer 17.6). So the translation may read “the valley where salt is found.”

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 .

You have an abundance of workmen: stonecutters, masons, carpenters …: The Hebrew expression for workmen is a general one. Here it is broken down into more specific categories. For stonecutters see 1 Chr 22.2. If technical terms for masons and carpenters do not exist in the receptor language, expressions such as “workers in stone” and “workers in wood” may be used (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

And all kinds of craftsmen without number, skilled in working: It is not clear in the Hebrew text whether the words without number refer (1) to the craftsmen in this verse or (2) to the metals listed in the next verse. According to Revised Standard Version, it is the craftsmen who are without number (so also New Revised Standard Version, New International Version). Following this interpretation, not only were the materials to be used in building the Temple “beyond weighing,” the number of craftsmen was so large that they could not be counted. But the Masoretic Text is more naturally read with the words without number referring to the quantities of gold, silver, bronze, and iron in the next verse (so Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Nouvelle Bible Segond). A translation based on this interpretation for the last half of this verse and the first half of the next verse is “and all kinds of craftsmen, skilled in working. 16 They will have an inexhaustible supply of gold, silver, bronze, and iron.”

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 they shall stand every morning: The Levites were to be at the Temple every morning. The verb stand may be rendered “be present” (New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “be on duty” (Revised English Bible).

Thanking and praising the LORD refers to the role of the Levites as musicians.

And likewise at evening is literally “and thus/so in the evening.” New Century Version renders this phrase as a separate sentence, saying “They also did this every evening.” Some versions combine the reference to evening with the one for morning (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, Parole de Vie, La Bible du Semeur). This eliminates the need to translate the word likewise.

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 number of them along with their brethren …: Good News Translation takes the pronouns them and their to refer to the twenty-four men previously mentioned in verses 2-4 and makes this explicit. The Hebrew word for brethren is to be taken in its broader sense and translated “relatives” (New International Version, New Century Version), “kinsmen” (Revised English Bible), or “fellow Levites” (Good News Translation).

All who were skilful may be rendered “all expert” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “all masters” (American Bible).

Two hundred and eighty-eight: Verse 2 lists four sons of Asaph, verse 3 lists six sons of Jeduthun, and verse 4 lists fourteen sons of Heman, making a total of twenty-four, as Good News Translation makes explicit. The number 288 (24 x 12; see verses 9-31) includes these twenty-four men.

The Good News Translation translation may give the impression that the twenty-four men listed in the preceding verses were not themselves “trained musicians.” The meaning of this verse is stated clearly in International Children’s Bible, which reads “These men and their relatives from the Levites were trained in music. They were skilled in making music for the Lord. There were 288 of them.”

This Handbook recommends that verses 6-7 form a separate paragraph, with verse 6 referring to all of the sons and fathers mentioned in verses 2-5, and the beginning of verse 7 referring to the same twenty-four people named in verses 2-4. The following NET Bible rendering is recommended as a model:

• 6 All of these were under the supervision of their fathers; they were musicians in the LORD’s temple, playing cymbals and stringed instruments as they served in God’s temple. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the supervision of the king. 7 They and their relatives, all of them skilled and trained to make music to the LORD, numbered two hundred eighty-eight.

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 .

Dodai the Ahohite (verse 4): The Hebrew word translated Ahohite probably refers to the clan of Ahoah, in the tribe of Benjamin (1 Chr 8.4). However, some interpreters take the word Ahohite as referring to the place from which Dodai came. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, for example, says “from the village of Ahoh.”

A rather literal translation of verse 4 in the Masoretic Text, which makes little sense, reads as follows: “And over the division for the second month was Dodai the Ahohite; and his division and Mikloth the leader and in his division were twenty-four thousand.” An American Translation follows the Masoretic Text rather literally, but its translation makes as little sense as the Masoretic Text itself: “Over the division of the second month, Dodai the Ahohite and his division, and Mikloth the leader; and in his division were twenty-four thousand.” What does it mean to say that Dodai and his division were over the division? Some interpreters think the Hebrew text contains an error, and various suggestions have been made to correct the Hebrew. Among the ways of understanding and translating verse 4 are the following:

• (1) Some versions follow the Septuagint in omitting the words “and his division, and Mikloth the leader” (so Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, American Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Osty-Trinquet).

• (2) Others correct the text on the basis of 1 Chr 11.12, which says that Dodai was the father of Eleazar. Since verse 2 says Jashobeam the son of Zabdi-el and verse 5 says Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, perhaps verse 4 originally said “Eleazar the son of Dodai.” Peregrino makes this correction by rendering the first part of verse 4 as “In charge of the division for the second month was Eleazar, son of Dodai, the Ahohite; the leader Mikloth formed part of it” (similarly Menge). Moffatt is similar with “The division for the second month was led by Eleazar the son of Dodai the Ahohite.”

• (3) Others translate the Masoretic Text as it is, to which Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating. The sense of “and his division, and Mikloth the leader” is probably that “Mikloth was his [Dodai’s] chief officer” (New Living Translation), “Mikloth was the chief officer of his division” (New Revised Standard Version; similarly La Bible Pléiade), or “Mikloth was his second in command” (Good News Translation; similarly Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). New Century Version says “Mikloth was a leader in the division,” which is probably not the intended meaning of the Hebrew. New International Version and La Bible du Semeur are better with “Mikloth was the leader of his division” (similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nueva Versión Internacional). Regarding the Hebrew noun translated “leader,” see the comments on 1 Chr 5.2, where it is rendered “prince.”

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 Hebrew this verse continues the long sentence that started at the beginning of verse 11. Good News Translation inserts a new sentence here, beginning with “He also gave instructions as to how much” (see the comments on verse 14).

Pure gold means that it was the best quality gold. In other languages the idea of purity in this sense is expressed by the adjective “true.”

The Hebrew word for forks is also found in Exo 27.3, where they are said to be made of bronze. A simple translation such as forks may well suggest ordinary dinner forks to readers today. For this reason King James Version says “fleshhooks,” referring to forks used to turn the sacrificial meat over while it was being burnt on the altar and to remove the meat from the pots in which it was cooked. Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, and Bible en français courant say “meat forks,” New Living Translation has “meat hooks used to handle the sacrificial meat,” and Peregrino translates “carving knives.” For a good description of these forks, see WTH, page 253|fig:WTH.4.4.2.Fork.253.html.

Basins were bowls used to hold the blood of the animals that had been killed for sacrifices. Since the blood in these bowls was sprinkled on the altar (Lev 1.5; 3.2; 7.2), New International Version and Osty-Trinquet say “sprinkling bowls.” Revised English Bible similarly calls them “tossing-bowls.” To convey this meaning in some languages, it will be necessary to use a longer expression such as “bowls for the blood that the priests would sprinkle on the altar.”

The Hebrew noun for cups refers to pitchers used for pouring libations. See Exo 25.29 and 37.16, where it is rendered “flagons.” This word may be translated “jars” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, American Bible), “pitchers” (New International Version), or “jugs.”

The Hebrew word for bowls occurs only here and in Ezra 1.10 and 8.27. It refers to a small bowl that was used for pouring libations (Exo 25.29; 37.16; see WTH, pages 254-255|fig:WTH.4.4.4.Basin, bowl.254-255.html). Some interpreters think that these bowls were actually baskets made of palm-fiber and covered with pitch. Good News Translation says “dishes.”

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 .