Now renders the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”). This conjunction often introduces the next event, but here it introduces a simultaneous event, so it may be translated “Meanwhile.”

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad …: Two of the seventy leaders chosen by Moses stayed in the Israelite camp in contrast to the other leaders, who were round about the Tent of Meeting (see verse 24). Revised Standard Version may give the wrong impression that the other leaders had gone outside the camp into the desert. But the Tent was located in the middle of the camp. Perhaps in order to avoid this misunderstanding, Good News Translation has moved the clause “and had not gone out to the Tent” earlier in the verse. (Perhaps “and had not gone over to the Tent” would be more accurate.) But a disadvantage of Good News Translation‘s model is that the connection of “and had not gone out to the Tent” with they were among those registered is lost. This is taken care of in the model below.

And the spirit rested upon them: See verse 25.

They were among those registered is literally “and they [were] among those written,” which means they were among the chosen seventy leaders. New International Version and New Living Translation say “They were listed among the elders,” and De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling has “they were on the list of seventy.”

But they had not gone out to the tent: See the comments above. The connector but introduces a contrast.

And so they prophesied in the camp: The expression for prophesied in verse 25 should be used here also.

New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh brings out well the connections between the different parts of this verse, saying “Two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in camp; yet the spirit rested upon them [as well]—they were among those recorded [with the others], but they had not gone out to the Tent—and they spoke in ecstasy in the camp” (similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The following modified version of Good News Translation is recommended for this verse:

• Two of the 70 leaders, Eldad and Medad, had stayed in the camp. These two men had been registered with the others, but they had not gone to the Tent of the LORD. There in the camp the spirit came on them, and they too began to shout in ecstacy like prophets.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .