Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 23:3:
Kupsabiny: “Then he said that the Levites who were men and had thirty years going up were to be counted. All those people reached to thirty-eight thousands (38,000).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He counted the Levites who were 30 years old and older, [and] having made the total, there were 38,000 men.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The Levites who were-aged 30 above were-counted, and their numbers was 38,000.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He commanded some of his officials to count the descendants of Levi who were at least thirty years old, and they found out that there were 38,000 of them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered: This census of the Levites did not include women, so Good News Translation correctly says “male Levites.” Thirty years old and upward follows God’s instructions to Moses in Num 4.3, 23, 30. The ages are given as twenty or older in verses 24 and 27. Some interpreters consider verses 24 and 27 to be a later addition to 1 Chronicles. Others think that both numbers belong in the text and that David later lowered the age to twenty when he realized how many Levites would be needed to work at the Temple. According to verses 24-26, the age seems to have been lowered to twenty since older and stronger men were no longer needed to carry the Covenant Box from place to place. The Hebrew says these Levites were numbered or “were counted.” Good News Translation uses an active expression, saying “David took a census.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “He then counted.” But surely David himself did not count all 38,000 Levites, and the translation should not give that impression. Several French versions use the indefinite pronoun on (Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible Pléiade), which is equivalent to saying in English “someone counted” or “they were counted.” For this whole clause Parole de Vie says “He had the adult Levites counted one by one, ages thirty and older.”
And the total was thirty-eight thousand men: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “the head-count of their males was 38,000” (similarly Braun).
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 .
23:3a The Levites thirty years of age or older were counted,
Every male Levite who was at least 30 years old was counted. (God’s Word) -or-
His/David’s men counted all the Levites who were thirty (30) years old or older.
23:3b and the total number of men was 38,000.
There were thirty eight thousand (38,000) ⌊Levites⌋ . -or-
Their number was 38,000 men. (Easy English Bible)
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