Abijah went out to battle … is literally “And Abijah tied on [or, bound] the battle….” The Hebrew verb here is used metaphorically without indicating whether Abijah was the aggressor, although some interpreters think that the Hebrew verb means “began” in this context. Since verse 4 indicates that the battle began in territory belonging to the northern kingdom, this suggests that Abijah was the aggressor.

The text speaks of valiant men of war, picked men, and picked mighty warriors. There is little difference in meaning between these expressions. They refer to the best warriors (see the comments on 1 Chr 19.10). The last two expressions focus on the fact that these warriors were specifically chosen for this battle. Good News Translation translates picked mighty warriors simply as “an army,” but this rendering fails to translate the idea that these were especially chosen fighters. However, in verse 17 Good News Translation refers to them as “best soldiers.”

And Jeroboam drew up his line of battle against him: The Hebrew verb rendered drew up his line of battle literally means “arranged.” Jeroboam arranged his soldiers side by side in rows to face the army of Abijah. Another possible rendering is “organized his soldiers in battle formation.”

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 .