And Asa cried to the LORD his God …: Since Asa’s cry to the LORD consisted of a prayer, Good News Translation says “prayed” (also New American Bible) instead of cried. The use of the archaic English pronouns thee and thou in this prayer to God is in keeping with the convention followed by Revised Standard Version, but in Hebrew there are no special pronouns to use with God, so it will be better to use the ordinary pronouns as New Revised Standard Version has done. Also, the vocative O, which occurs three times in Revised Standard Version, does not reflect a special form in the original text and does not need to be imitated in the receptor language unless it is a natural form in such a context.

There is none like thee to help, between the mighty and the weak: New Revised Standard Version is a clear improvement over Revised Standard Version in expressing the meaning of the Hebrew here by saying “there is no difference for you between helping the mighty and the weak.” In this context, where the army of Judah is about half the size of the Cushite army, Good News Translation correctly says “you can help a weak army as easily as a powerful one.” Compare also “no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty!” (New Living Translation) and “only you can help a powerless army defeat a stronger one” (Contemporary English Version).

Help us … for we rely on thee: The Hebrew verb rendered rely may be understood to mean “to support oneself on.” But in this context it is used metaphorically, so we rely on thee may be rendered “we depend on you” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version) or “we trust in you” (New Living Translation).

And in thy name we have come against this multitude: Thy name refers to God himself. The Hebrew noun rendered multitude can have a variety of meanings, including “agitation,” “turmoil,” “noise,” and “multitude.” In this context it may be rendered “huge army” (Good News Translation, NET Bible) or “immense army” (Bible en français courant). A possible model for this whole clause is “and we will fight against this huge army to honor you” (similarly Contemporary English Version).

Thou art God; let not man prevail against thee: Here the contrast is between God and human beings, so man is better rendered “mortal” (Revised English Bible), “human” (New Jerusalem Bible), “person,” or “human being.” The root meaning of the Hebrew verb rendered prevail against is “to rule,” “to dominate,” or “to restrain.” In this context it is used in a negated wish, which may be rendered “Don’t let anyone win against you” or “Don’t let anyone successfully oppose you” (God’s Word). Since this verb expresses the desire of King Asa with God as the subject, some versions turn the strong expression of the king’s desire into an affirmation that God will prevail against human beings. Contemporary English Version, for example, translates “we know that you won’t be defeated.” Other similar renderings include “Human strength cannot prevail against you!” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “no mere mortal can vie with you” (Revised English Bible).

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 .