The men of Judah captured another ten thousand alive: The men of Judah (literally “the sons of Judah”) may be rendered “The army of Judah” (New International Version, New Century Version) or “The soldiers of Judah” (Parole de Vie). Since the verb captured in English implies that the Edomite soldiers were not dead, it is redundant to say captured … alive. This may also be the case in many other languages.

And took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock: An American Translation renders to the top of a rock as “to the top of a crag,” and other versions similarly say “to the top of a [high] cliff” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant). The Hebrew word for rock is selaʿ. Several versions use the capitalized word “Rock” to indicate that it is a proper name (so New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, La Bible des Communautés Chrétiennes, Osty-Trinquet). It probably refers to the fortified Edomite city named “Sela” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The exact location of this city within Edom is uncertain. It may be the same as the modern-day city Essela, which lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of the Dead Sea.

And they were all dashed to pieces: The pronoun they refers to the captured Edomite soldiers. This clause may be rendered “they split open” (New Century Version), “every one of them was burst open” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “their bones were broken” (La Bible du Semeur). Another possible model is “when they hit the rocks below, their bodies broke into pieces.”

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 .