And all the people of Judah took Uzziah … and made him king …: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered And may be omitted at the beginning of this new section (so Good News Translation). The Hebrew verbs rendered took and made … king may be combined in some languages; for example, New Century Version begins this verse with “Then all the people of Judah made Uzziah king….” The name Uzziah (literally “Uzziyahu”) means “Yahweh is my strength.” Uzziah is usually called “Azariah” (which means “Yahweh helps”) in the parallel text in 2 Kings and in 1 Chr 3.12. Despite the significant dissimilarity of the two names in English, the difference in Hebrew between the two is the presence or absence of a single consonant, so the difference between the two forms of the name is greater in English than in Hebrew. It will be important to inform the reader that the name Uzziah refers to the same person as Azariah in other contexts. Probably the best way to do this is through a footnote at the beginning of this section. The texts provide no reason for the different names, but see the comments on 1 Chr 3.12.

Instead of his father Amaziah may be rendered “to replace Amaziah his father.” The biblical text nowhere clearly states that Uzziah became king only after the death of his father Amaziah, so the translation should not indicate that Amaziah was already dead when Uzziah became king. Biblical scholars debate whether Uzziah became king before or after his father’s death. Some think that Uzziah ruled in Judah for as many as twenty-five years while his father was alive and a prisoner in Samaria.

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 .

But walked in the ways of the kings of Israel: Ahaz followed the negative example of the kings of the northern kingdom. For walked in the ways of, see the comments on 2 Chr 6.14 and 11.17. This phrase may be rendered “lived according to the example of” or “imitated the model of.” NET Bible preserves some of the imagery here by rendering this clause as “He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel.” La Bible du Semeur says “But he followed the example of the kings of Israel” (similarly Good News Translation).

He even made molten images for the Baals: The adverb even translates the common Hebrew conjunction plus a Hebrew adverb that is used as an intensifier to take the description of this king’s evil behavior a step further. Another possible translation is “also” (New International Version). Since it is not likely that Ahaz himself made the metal images of Baal, it will be better to say that he “had [them] made” (so Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem). Molten images were idols made by metal-casting. The images were made by pouring melted liquid metals such as gold, silver, bronze, or iron into molds and allowing them to cool and harden. Bible en français courant says “statues of melted metal.” The metal idols here were made for the Baals; that is, they were made for the worship of the god Baal. This phrase may be rendered “for worshiping Baal” (similarly Dillard) or “in order to worship Baal” (similarly Parole de Vie). Regarding the plural expression the Baals, see the comments on 2 Chr 17.3.

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 priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD to cleanse it: This is the first mention of the priests since verse 4. The inner part of the house of the LORD means “inside the Temple” (Good News Translation). To cleanse renders the same Hebrew verb as in the previous verse (see the comments there).

And they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD: Uncleanness translates a Hebrew word that refers to a state of ritual impurity. It may refer to people, food, or things. King Ahaz had made the Temple ritually unclean (see 2 Chr 28.24). All the uncleanness may be rendered “all the unclean things” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible), “every ceremonially unclean thing” ( NET Bible), or “all the defiled things” (New Living Translation). Temple translates the Hebrew noun hekal, which often refers to the main room of the Temple. Here it refers to the entire Temple as in 2 Chr 26.16. The court of the house of the LORD probably refers to the Temple courtyard of the priests (see the comments on 2 Chr 4.9).

And the Levites took it and carried it out to the brook Kidron: The pronoun it refers to all the unclean things. The brook Kidron was a valley to the east of of Jerusalem (see the comments on 2 Chr 15.16). Good News Translation makes it explicit that this valley was located “outside the city,” which may be a good model for other languages to follow since this information would have been known by the original readers.

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 took their accustomed posts according to the law of Moses, the man of God: The priests and Levites had assigned places in the Temple as prescribed by the Law of Moses. The Levites were not allowed to carry the blood of the sacrifices to the altar since that was the duty of the priests. The Chronicler shows his great respect for Moses by referring to him as the man of God here and in 1 Chr 23.14 (see the comments there). He is also referred to as “the servant of God” in 1 Chr 6.49 and 2 Chr 24.9, and as “the servant of the LORD” in 2 Chr 1.3 and 24.6.

The priests sprinkled the blood: The Hebrew verb translated sprinkled can mean “to sprinkle,” “to scatter,” or “to throw,” depending on the context. In context of ritual sacrifices the verb often refers to sprinkling blood on the altar (see the comments on 2 Chr 29.22, where it is rendered “threw” and “was thrown”). The text does not state here whether the blood was sprinkled on the altar (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible) or on the people, but the former understanding seems most likely in this context.

Which they received from the hand of the Levites: Revised Standard Version has added the words which they received as the context requires. New International Version attempts to keep the form of the Hebrew by saying “handed to them by the Levites.” This clause and the previous one may be more naturally expressed as “The Levites brought the sacrificial blood to the priests, who then sprinkled it on the altar” (New Living 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 every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments: The Hebrew verb rendered undertook is literally “began.” The same verb occurs in verses 7 and 10. But to begin a work is to assume responsibility for something. This good king took on the responsibility of perfecting the Temple and the worship that took place in it. But he was also concerned about the law and the commandments. The text uses the Hebrew words torah (law) and mitzwah (commandment). The first word has to do with “Teaching” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; see the comments on 2 Chr 6.16); and the second one, which is singular in Hebrew, may be taken to refer to the totality of what God requires of his people. So it is properly translated as a plural.

Seeking his God: See the comments on 1 Chr 16.10-11.

He did with all his heart: Hezekiah undertook these activities with all his heart; that is, he entered into the work without reservation. Many languages may have an idiom that is similar in meaning and that uses the word “heart.” If this is not the case, the meaning may be expressed in other words. For example, some languages may say that he acted “with utter devotion” (Anchor Bible), or the whole clause may be rendered “he gave himself completely.”

And prospered: The result of his wholehearted activity was that he prospered. The Hebrew verb for prospered means “to have success.” New Jerusalem Bible, Anchor Bible, and Dillard translate “succeeded.” Bible en français courant makes it clear that it was by the grace of God that Hezekiah was successful: “God accorded him success.” In some languages it may be more natural to state at the beginning of this verse that Hezekiah was successful rather than waiting until the very end as does the Hebrew (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 .

Manasseh seems to have reversed all the positive things that his father had done (see 2 Chr 31.1).

For he rebuilt the high places which his father Hezekiah had broken down: The Hebrew words rendered he rebuilt are literally “he returned and he built.” But the two verbs may legitimately be translated with a single verb (so Revised Standard Version) or with a verb and an adverb in other languages (for example, “he built again”). For high places, see the comments on 1 Chr 16.39 and 2 Chr 1.3.

And erected altars to the Baals: Erected is literally “caused to raise up.” But in many languages the Hebrew verb here will be best translated “constructed” (New Living Translation) or “built” (Good News Translation) even though it is different from the verb rendered “built” at the beginning of verses 4 and 5. For the Baals, see the comments on 2 Chr 17.3.

And made Asherahs: For Asherahs see the comments on 2 Chr 14.3. Here this word may be rendered “sacred poles” (New Revised Standard Version, An American Translation), “sacred posts” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “sacred poles for worshiping the goddess Asherah” (Contemporary English Version).

And worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them: The verbs worshiped and served can be combined into one term since they refer to the same event (so Good News Translation). All the host of heaven refers to all the heavenly bodies seen in the sky. They include the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets. Worship of these heavenly bodies was common in the ancient Near East. Most modern versions speak of “all the stars of the sky” (New Century Version), “all the stars of heaven” (New Living Translation), or simply “the stars” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English 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 .

Then Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary is literally “And Hilkiyahu answered and he said….” Since Hilkiah was the subject of the last verb in verse 14, Good News Translation substitutes the pronoun “He” for the proper name. Moreover, Good News Translation omits the information that Shaphan was a secretary to King Josiah. But since this information has not been previously stated in the chapter, it should be translated here. The Hebrew noun translated secretary has been traditionally translated “scribe” (King James Version, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Reina-Valera revisada). The primary task of such individuals was keeping administrative records, either for the king or for the Temple (see the comments on 1 Chr 18.16 and 2 Chr 24.11).

I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD: This direct quotation, which reflects the direct discourse of the Hebrew, may be made into indirect discourse by beginning this verse with “Then Hilkiah told Shaphan that he had found the book of the Law in the Temple.”

And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan: New Century Version says simply “Then he gave it to Shaphan.”

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 singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place: The Hebrew participle translated singers may also be rendered “musicians” (Good News Translation), since 1 Chr 25 indicates that these singers played musical instruments, but the idea of singing is definitely a major aspect of the meaning in this Hebrew verb (see the comments on 1 Chr 6.33). In this context the sons of Asaph refers to “the descendants of Asaph” (New International Version).

According to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun, the king’s seer: See 1 Chr 25.1. The men mentioned here assigned the places given to the musicians. The king in this context refers to David. For seer see the comments on 1 Chr 9.22. Nearly all Hebrew manuscripts read the king’s seer, which refers to Jeduthun. However, a couple of Hebrew manuscripts, as well as the ancient versions, have the plural, “the king’s seers,” referring also to Asaph and Heman (so Revised English Bible). The plural fits well with passages such as 1 Chr 25.5, which refers to Heman as “the king’s seer,” and 2 Chr 29.30, which refers to Asaph as “the seer.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament notes that it fits the style of the Chronicler to use a form which appears singular but which is followed by a plural noun. So Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the form in the Masoretic Text, and notes that it is not possible to know whether the author intended for the form to refer to Jeduthun alone or to all three men.

And the gatekeepers were at each gate: The gatekeepers refers to the Levites who guarded the Temple gates. See the comments on 1 Chr 9.17.

They did not need to depart from their service: The pronoun they probably refers to the Temple musicians and gatekeepers. This clause may be rendered “They didn’t need to leave their work” (God’s Word).

For their brethren the Levites prepared for them: Their brethren the Levites may be rendered “their fellow Levites” (New International Version) or simply “the other Levites” (Good News Translation). As in the previous verse, the Hebrew verb translated prepared has no stated object. Here Good News Translation supplies “the Passover,” and Moffatt adds “the meat.”

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 .