The common Hebrew conjunction rendered And at the beginning of this verse may be translated in a variety of ways. These include “Then” (New International Version), “Afterward” (New Living Translation), “Later” (Bible en français courant), and “Some time later” (Contemporary English Version).

Ephraim went in to his wife is literally “he went in to his wife” (so Braun). Revised Standard Version replaces the pronoun “he” with the name Ephraim for the sake of clarity. Went in to his wife is a Hebrew euphemism for sexual intercourse (compare Gen 6.4; 16.2). Some translations preserve a euphemism in the receptor language, saying, for example, “slept with his wife” (New Living Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or “lay with his wife” (New International Version). Others speak more directly, saying “had intercourse with his wife” (Good News Translation, An American Translation) or “had sexual relations with his wife” (New Century Version).

And he called his name Beriah: Revised Standard Version follows the Masoretic Text in saying that Ephraim named Beriah. Some Hebrew manuscripts and the ancient Syriac version say “she [the wife of Ephraim] called his name Beriah” (followed by Bible de Jérusalem), but the textual evidence for the masculine verb is strong, and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text. Good News Translation changes the pronoun he to the plural “they,” but this is not recommended. Compare “The father named him Beriah” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) and “Ephraim called him Beriah.”

Some translations use a footnote to explain the significance of the name Beriah (so Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). As the footnote in Good News Translation shows, the name Beriah sounds like the Hebrew word for “in trouble.” Another way of showing this is by placing the meaning of Beriah in the text since it is pertinent to the context. Moffatt, for example, says “Ephraim called him Beriah (On-evil).” Compare also “whom he called Beriah (In misfortune)” (La Bible du Semeur).

Because evil had befallen his house: The evil or “misfortune” (New International Version, American Bible, La Bible du Semeur) refers to the killing of Ezer and Elead. The Masoretic Text, as well as most ancient versions and modern translations, read “his house.” The Septuagint, however, has “my house.” According to Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, this switch in the Septuagint to direct discourse following the giving of a name is common in the Hebrew Bible (see, for example, Gen 4.25; 1 Sam 1.20). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {D} rating to the Septuagint reading (followed by Bible de Jérusalem). If this recommendation is followed, a possible model for the last half of this verse is “He called his name Beriah, because he said, ‘Evil has come to my house.’ ”

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 .