complete verse (1 Chronicles 27:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 27:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “Heldai who came from Netopha and was the grandson of Othniel was in charge of the twelfth part. That one worked in the twelfth month.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “For the twelfth month, Heldai the Netophathite, of the lineage of Ohniel, was the 12th captain. There were 24,000 men in his group.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Heldai of/from-Netofat a descendant of Otniel was the commander of the soldiers for the 12th month. There were 24,000 soldiers in his group.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The commander for the last month of each year was Heldai, a descendant of Othniel from Netophath town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 27:15

Heldai the Netophathite, of Othni-el (verse 15): Heldai is called “Heled” in 1 Chr 11.30. New Living Translation harmonizes the spellings by using the name “Heled” here in verse 15 also. Othni-el is mentioned in Jdg 1.13 and 3.9. Since readers may not know whether Othni-el is a person or place, some versions render of Othni-el as “a descendant of Othniel” (Good News Translation, La Bible du Semeur, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje), “from the clan of Othniel” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), or “from Othniel’s family” (New Century Version; similarly Revised English Bible, 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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Chronicles 27:15

27:15a The twelfth, for the twelfth month, was Heldai the Netophathite, from the family of Othniel.

⌊The commander in charge⌋ of the twelfth division was Heldai. He served in the twelfth month ⌊of the year⌋ . Heldai came from Netophah ⌊village⌋ . ⌊He was a descendant⌋ of Othniel.
-or-
Heldai was responsible for the twelfth troop during the twelfth month ⌊of the year⌋ . Heldai was ⌊from the clan⌋ of Othniel. He came from Netophah ⌊village in Judah⌋ .

27:15b There were 24,000 men in his division.

Heldai supervised twenty-four thousand fighting men.
-or-
Heldai was the chief/leader of twenty-four thousand (24,000) soldiers.

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