3He said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon son of David, king of Israel, built; you need no longer carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
And he said to the Levites …: In this context the common Hebrew conjunction rendered And may be seen as introducing an additional action on the part of the king after he had assigned the priests their duties and encouraged them. For this reason “also” (Good News Translation, NASB) is a valid translation here. But many modern versions omit it (so New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible). La Bible du Semeur takes it as a temporal connector, translating “Then.” In view of the lengthy directives that follow in the direct quotation, it may be better to translate the verb said as “issued this order” (New Living Translation).
Who taught all Israel: The Hebrew participle here as written in the Hebrew text makes no sense, so all translations follow the reading in the margin of the Hebrew text, which changes one letter to read who taught. The Levites taught the Israelites about matters pertaining to the Temple worship. Moffatt says “who gave religious instruction to all Israel.”
Who were holy to the LORD may be rendered “who had been set apart to serve the LORD” (New Living Translation) or “who had been consecrated to the LORD” (New International Version).
New Century Version changes the structure and makes two separate sentences of the first part of this verse, saying “The Levites taught the Israelites and were made holy for service to the LORD. Josiah said to them….”
The instructions that the king gives to the Levites comprise a quotation that continues through the end of verse 6.
Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon … built: According to 2 Chr 5, the Covenant Box had already been placed in the Temple at the time of King Solomon. Interpreters are unsure of the meaning of the Hebrew here. How can the Levites put the Covenant Box in the Temple if it has already been put there? For this reason some interpreters suggest that the sense here must be “Since the sacred ark … was placed inside the temple built by Solomon…” (Moffatt; similarly Osty-Trinquet). Peregrino says “Leave the holy ark in the temple that Solomon … built.” For the holy ark, see the comments on 1 Chr 6.31.
You need no longer carry it upon your shoulders is literally “not for you a burden on the shoulder” or “you have no burden upon the shoulder.” New American Bible renders this clause rather literally as “It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders.” The Hebrew leaves a great deal of information implied that may be made more explicit in translation. The sense here is that the priests will no longer be required to carry the Covenant Box since it was to become stationary in the Temple. This clause may even be taken as a command by saying “It is not to be carried about on your shoulders” (New International Version) or “Do not carry it from place to place on your shoulders anymore” (New Century Version).
Now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel: Frequently the Hebrew verb for serve is rendered “worship” with the LORD as the object. But since his people Israel is also the object of this verb, all the translations consulted use the verb “serve” here.
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 .
35:3a To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the LORD, Josiah said:
He told the Levites, who taught the people of Israel and who had been set apart to serve Yahweh: -or-
Men from the clan of Levi were those who taught the Israel people about God. They had been made holy for Yahweh. The king said to them:
35:3b “Put the holy ark in the temple
“Place the sacred covenant box in the temple -or-
“Put the holy chest in the temple
35:3c built by Solomon son of David king of Israel.
that King Solomon, the son of David, the king of Israel built. -or-
that King Solomon built. Solomon was the son of David, the king of Israel.
35:3d It is not to be carried around on your shoulders.
Do not carry the box around on your shoulders anymore. -or-
⌊The holy chest should stay there.⌋ You do not have to carry it around anymore.
35:3e Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.
Serve Yahweh your God and serve his people Israel. -or-
Now, do your work well for Yahweh your God and for his people Israel.
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