And with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah: Contemporary English Version expresses the meaning of this first part of the verse in a more natural way by saying “Their assistants were the following nine Levites….” Five of the Levite names have long forms in Hebrew, which are not reflected in the Revised Standard Version translation. Shemaiah is “Shemayahu,” Nethaniah is “Nethanyahu,” Zebadiah is “Zebadyahu,” Adonijah is “Adoniyahu,” and Tobijah is “Tobiyahu.”

Some scholars, following the Septuagint here, think that the name Tobadonijah should not be in the text and suggest that a scribe accidentally created the name by repeating letters from the two preceding names. New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible omit the name Tobadonijah. However, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and suggests that the name Tobadonijah was accidentally omitted by the Septuagint or in the manuscript from which it was translated.

And with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram: Contemporary English Version provides a helpful model here, saying “Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along.”

Good News Translation makes a slight change in the structure of this verse by shifting the words the priests forward into the first sentence and by making explicit from the beginning the fact that there were “two priests.” Good News Translation also specifies “nine Levites” in the initial sentence. This model may be helpful for some other languages.

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 .