And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem: The common Hebrew conjunction rendered And may be omitted (so Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or it may be taken as a simple connecting word indicating the continuation of the story. The Hebrew verb translated commanded is the ordinary word meaning “to say” or “to tell.” But in some languages this context will require a stronger word such as commanded or “ordered” (Revised English Bible). New Jerusalem Bible has “requested,” but this verb seems too weak here.

To give the portion due to the priests and the Levites: See Num 18 for the laws regarding what was due the priests and Levites. In some languages this clause may be expressed as “to provide the supplies for the priests and the Levites” (Moffatt) or “to give provisions to….”

That they might give themselves to the law of the LORD: The antecedent of the pronoun they is the priests and the Levites, not the people. This clause gives the reason why the ordinary citizens of Jerusalem had to give provisions to the priests and Levites. They had to do it so that the priests and Levites could do what the Law required them to do. The Hebrew verb translated give themselves comes from the root meaning “to be strong,” that is, “that they might be strong in the law….” The verb seems to refer to total commitment here. For this reason some translations add the word “entirely” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible). For this whole clause La Bible du Semeur says “so that they might consecrate themselves to the tasks that are prescribed to them in the Law of the Eternal.” Another possible model is “that they might devote themselves to doing what the Law of the LORD commands.”

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 .