But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: But renders the Hebrew verbal transition that is literally “And it came to pass.” Here it marks a contrast between the plans of Rehoboam and God’s message, which came through the prophet named Shemaiah. Almost all versions have “But” or “However” (New American Bible). The word of the LORD refers to God’s message that follows in verses 3-4. In the Hebrew text the name Shemaiah is written “Shemayahou” (La Bible Pléiade), but most versions use the same form of the name here as in the parallel text of 1 Kgs 12.22, where the Hebrew name is “Shemaiah.”

The man of God is an accurate rendering of the Hebrew words, but a literal translation into other languages may not convey the correct meaning. The expression here refers to a “prophet,” someone sent and inspired by God (compare 1 Sam 2.27; 9.6-8; 1 Kgs 13.1; 17.24). In fact, Shemaiah is called a “prophet” in 2 Chr 12.5. The same expression is also used of Moses (see 1 Chr 23.14) and of David (see 2 Chr 8.14). In this context many common language versions say “prophet” (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Use of the definite article before the noun man does not mean that Shemaiah and no one else was considered to be a prophet. In English this phrase is more appropriately rendered “a man of God” (New Century Version, New American Bible). According to 2 Chr 12.15, Shemaiah wrote a history.

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 .