complete verse (1 Chronicles 26:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 26:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “Hosah who was from the house of Merari had four sons. The one leading those sons were Shimri. His father gave him to lead the others even though he was not firstborn.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “[Of] the sons of Hosah of the clan of Merari — the first was Shimri He was not the eldest, still, his father made him first.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Hosa from the family of Merari had children too. He appointed/[lit. made] Shimri as chief-leader/[lit. head] of their family even though he was not his eldest child.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Another guard was Hosah’s son Shimri, a descendant of Merari. Hosah appointed Shimri to be the leader, even though he was not Hosah’s oldest son.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 26:10

And Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Verses 10 and 11 give descendants of Merari, a son of Levi. Some common language translations name Merari before Hosah since Merari was the chief ancestor of this clan (so Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Hosah is mentioned with Obed Edom in 1 Chr 16.38 as a gatekeeper.

Shimri the chief (for though he was not the first-born, his father made him chief): In Hebrew tradition the oldest son would normally be the leader of the family, but even though Shimri was not the oldest, his father made him the leader. The Hebrew word translated chief, which occurs twice in this verse, is literally “head” (God’s Word). However, the chief may also be translated “the first” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible), “the leader” (New Living Translation), or “to be in charge” (New Century Version).

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 .