And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon: A threshing floor was a hard, level surface in the open air, located outside of a town, where the blowing winds could separate the seeds from the husks. People either walked on the grain or dragged a heavy board over it, and then tossed both the grain and husks into the air. The wind blew away the lighter husks, but the heavier grain fell to the ground. Since the word floor in English might make the reader think of something made of wood, Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version use the more general word “place.” In languages that do not have a word for threshing floor, this whole clause may be translated “When they arrived near the place of Chidon, there where one beats the grain” (Parole de Vie) or “When they arrived at a place where they cleaned the wheat, which belonged to Chidon” (La Biblia: Traducción en Lenguaje Actual).

In the parallel passage of 2 Sam 6.6, the threshing floor is said to belong to “Nacon” instead of Chidon. Braun changes the text here to read “Nacon,” but translators should not harmonize the reading here with the parallel in 2 Sam 6 although an explanatory footnote may be added. Chidon is probably the name of the man who owned the threshing floor. Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje says “which belonged to Chidon.” But Chidon could also be the place name. The Hebrew word kidon means “javelin” or possibly “short sword,” so New Jerusalem Bible renders the threshing floor of Chidon as “the threshing-floor of the Javelin.”

Uzzah put out his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled: The Hebrew text, followed by Revised Standard Version, first says Uzzah touched the Covenant Box and then gives the reason for his doing so. These two clauses have been reversed in Good News Translation and certain other modern versions (New Living Translation, New Century Version, Revised English Bible). In many languages the order of Good News Translation will be preferred. The fact that the oxen stumbled, causing Uzzah to put his hand on the Box, will come first. The text leaves implicit that when the oxen stumbled, the Box must have been shaken and must have started to fall off the cart that was carrying it.

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 .