Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 17:18:
Kupsabiny: “And the following were those that Jehozabad was leading. They were ready for battle and they reached/numbered one hundred and eighty thousand (180,000).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Next in line was Jehozabad, with him were 180,000 soldiers equipped with weapons.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Next to him was Jehozabad the commander of 180,000 armed soldiers.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Next was Jehozabad, who commanded 180,000 men who had weapons for fighting battles.” (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.
And next to him Jehozabad: Jehozabad was second in command over the soldiers from Benjamin. For next to him (that is, next to Eliada), see the comments on verse 15. New Living Translation says “Next in command.”
With a hundred and eighty thousand armed for war: The passive expression armed for war is also translated “fully armed” (Revised English Bible) and “equipped for war” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), but it will have to be rendered actively in some languages. A possible model in such cases is “each soldier received the things necessary to fight.”
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 .
17:18 and next to him, Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 armed for battle.
Next to him was Jehozabad, in charge of a hundred and eighty thousand soldiers equipped for war. -or-
And there was Jehozabad who led 180,000 soldiers who were trained to fight.
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