complete verse (2 Chronicles 14:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 14:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “They also destroyed the cities surrounding Gerar because God had scared those people. (They) destroyed all the cities and plundered very many things.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They destroyed all the cities surrounding Gerar. The LORD had terrified the people living there. Because there were many valuable things in those cities, they plundered all the cities.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They destroyed the villages surrounding Gerar, because the residence of it became- afraid of the LORD. They took the properties of these villages because they have so many properties.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The men of Judah were able to destroy the people in villages near Gerar because Yahweh had caused the people there to become terrified and unable to fight. The army of Judah took away all the valuable things from those villages.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 14:14

And they smote all the cities round about Gerar: The pronoun they refers to the soldiers of Judah, which La Bíblia: Bíblia catalana traducció interconfessional makes explicit by saying “those of Judah.” They smote all the cities means the Judean army killed many people in these cities as well as destroying the cities themselves. Round about Gerar refers to the general geographical area of Gerar.

For the fear of the LORD was upon them: The fear of the LORD sometimes refers to “awe” rather than “fear.” But in this context it is a matter of real fear. The pronoun them may refer either to the people in the cities near Gerar or to the soldiers of Judah. The former is much more likely. Therefore the clear meaning of this clause is that the inhabitants of these cities were “terrified of the LORD” (Good News Translation). Other translations include “for the LORD had struck the people with panic” (Revised English Bible) and “for a panic from Yahweh had seized the towns” (New Jerusalem Bible). For the same idea, see Exo 23.27.

They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them: The meaning of the Hebrew noun rendered plunder is very similar to that of the Hebrew noun translated “booty” in the previous verse. The Hebrew verb rendered plundered, meaning “to take the spoils,” comes from the same root as the noun for plunder. An alternative model for this whole sentence is “These towns contained many valuable things, so Asa’s army took them all away” (similarly New Century 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 .