And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh: As inverse 18, Good News Translation leaves implied king of Israel and king of Judah since this information is given earlier in the chapter. Nor does Good News Translation include the words at Beth-shemesh for the same reason (see verse 21). The words the son of Joash, son of Ahaziah are also omitted, but this information is not found in the immediate context, so it should be included. God’s Word renders these words as “son of Joash and grandson of Ahaziah.”

And brought him to Jerusalem: Contemporary English Version says “Jehoash took Amaziah with him when he went to attack Jerusalem.”

And broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits from the Ephraim gate to the Corner Gate: Jehoash and his army destroyed part of the wall around Jerusalem. Regarding the modern equivalents of the cubit, see the comments on 1 Chr 11.23. Four hundred cubits corresponds approximately to “two hundred yards” (Good News Translation) or “six hundred feet” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation) in the American system of measurements, but in the metric system it corresponds to about “one hundred eighty meters” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Versión Internacional). Part of the northern wall of Jerusalem was destroyed, since the Ephraim Gate was located in the northern wall, facing the territory of Ephraim, and the Corner Gate was located in the northwest corner of the wall. The northwest part of Jerusalem was the most vulnerable to attack by enemy forces. The translation the Corner Gate follows the ancient versions and the parallel text of 2 Kgs 14.13. The Masoretic Text says “the gate of that which turns.” The difference in Hebrew between the word for “Corner” in 2 Kgs 14.13 and the participle meaning “which turns” here in verse 23 is very slight.

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 .