And Hezekiah appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites …: Hezekiah may be rendered “King Hezekiah” (Good News Translation) since he is first mentioned here in this section. Solomon had previously organized the priests and the Levites according to King David’s instructions (see 2 Chr 8.14), so appointed the divisions of the priests and the Levites is better translated “reestablished the organization of the priests and Levites” (Good News Translation; similarly New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie).

Each according to his service, the priests and the Levites …: The priests were responsible for making the sacrifices; the Levites were in charge of guarding the Temple gates and the singing.

For burnt offerings and peace offerings, to minister in the gates of the camp of the LORD and to give thanks and praise: This last part of the verse in the Masoretic Text is literally “for burnt offering and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks and to praise in [or, within] the gates of the camps of the LORD.” Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint by changing the word order so that the phrase in the gates of the camp of the LORD is taken with the verb to minister. If the Masoretic Text is followed, the sense of the verb to minister should be taken in a general sense as in Good News Translation, which says “taking part in the Temple worship.” But if the Septuagint is followed, then the meaning may be either “guarding the Temple gates” (so Moffatt) or “worshiping at the Temple” (so New Living Translation, New Century Version).

For burnt offerings and peace offerings, see the comments on 1 Chr 16.1.

The camp of the LORD refers to the Temple in this context. But the Chronicler uses an unusual term at this point. The Masoretic Text has the plural word “camps,” and this is a term often used in the context of warfare. Here it refers to the various parts of the Temple (compare 1 Chr 9.18-19). Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation translate the camp of the LORD as simply “the temple,” but this rendering loses the unusual nature of the text here, but to translate it literally may be misleading to the reader. A possible solution may be to say “the Temple, the place where the LORD camps on earth.” The Septuagint says “the courts of the house of the Lord,” and Revised English Bible follows the Septuagint by saying “the several quarters in the LORD’s house.”

To give thanks and praise may be a way of amplifying the meaning of the verb to minister.

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 .