And certain worthless scoundrels gathered about him: And renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Good News Translation uses the adverb “Later” in order to show the passage of a certain amount of time between the events described in verse 6 and those in verse 7. Given the context, this is a legitimate rendering of the Hebrew conjunction. Contemporary English Version makes it more immediate by translating “Then right after Rehoboam became king.”

Worthless scoundrels is literally “empty men, sons/children of Belial.” The expression “sons/children of Belial” is fairly common in the Old Testament (compare Deut 13.13; Jdg 19.22; 20.13; 1 Kgs 21.10, 13) and refers to people who are considered troublemakers. The words “son/sons of” plus a noun often function in Hebrew as an adjective stating the nature or character of the person being described. The exact meaning of the Hebrew word transliterated “Belial” is not clear, though it is obviously a term of contempt. Perhaps it is formed from two words meaning “without” and “worth.” In the Old Testament this word is used in contexts that suggest the idea of “evil,” and by the time of the New Testament it had become the name of the prince of evil (2 Cor 6.15). King James Version translates this whole phrase literally, saying “vain men, the children of Beʾli-al,” but such a rendering has zero meaning. There may be a wide variety of ways in the receptor language for speaking of such men. In addition to the Revised Standard Version/Good News Translation rendering, some other idiomatic translations are “Riffraff and scoundrels” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “people without scruples, good-for-nothings” (La Bible du Semeur), “Worthless, good-for-nothing men” (God’s Word), and “worthless, evil men” (New Century Version).

And defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon: The Hebrew verb translated defied plus the following Hebrew preposition is literally “strengthened themselves against” (King James Version). But the meaning is that they “stubbornly opposed” (Revised English Bible) the young king and imposed their own will on him.

When Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them: When renders the common Hebrew conjunction, but in this context it functions as a logical connector. It was “because” Rehoboam was young and indecisive that these men took advantage of him. According to 2 Chr 12.13, Rehoboam was forty-one years old. The Hebrew word translated irresolute is literally “tender of heart” (see the comments on 1 Chr 22.5). King James Version says “tender-hearted,” but since the word “tender-hearted” means “quick to feel pity or sympathy” in modern English, this is not an accurate translation. The Hebrew expression here is better rendered “timid” (NASB), “indecisive” (New International Version), or “inexperienced” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, God’s Word, Revised English Bible). New Century Version says “didn’t know what to do.”

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 .