And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat: And renders the Hebrew verbal transition meaning “And it happened,” but most modern versions ignore it. Since the captains of the chariots are mentioned in the previous verse, it may be more natural in some languages to refer to them by a pronoun in this verse (so Good News Translation).

The words they said may be taken in one of two different ways. The following words may be understood as (1) a quotation of what the chariot captains actually said to each other or (2) a statement of what these men were thinking. Given the context, the second interpretation is more likely to be correct. If this is true, it will be accurate to translate as in Good News Translation, which has “they all thought.” This understanding is also reflected in New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Moffatt.

It is the king of Israel: Since Jehoshaphat was wearing his royal robes, the Syrian captains thought he was Ahab.

So they turned to fight against him may be rendered “so they turned to attack him” (New Century Version).

And Jehoshaphat cried out means he prayed to God. In those languages where it is necessary to specify to whom Jehoshaphat cried out, translators may say “cried out to the LORD to save him” (New Living Translation) or “called on God for help.”

And the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him: The use of both the LORD and God here may be confusing to readers who do not know much about the Bible. For this reason Good News Translation combines them by rendering these two clauses as “and the LORD God rescued him and turned the attack away from him.”

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 .