For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir …: Revised Standard Version renders the common Hebrew conjunction as For since this verse tells how the LORD defeated Judah’s enemies. He did it by having them kill each other. For the men of Ammon and Moab and the inhabitants of Mount Seir, see the comments on verse 10. Rose against may be rendered “attacked” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version).

Destroying them utterly is literally “to put under a ban and destroy.” The first of the two Hebrew verbs here carries the idea of complete destruction (see the comments on 1 Chr 4.41, where it is rendered “exterminated”). The adverb utterly does not render a separate word in the Hebrew but correctly expresses the force of two separate Hebrew verbs. The idea of the complete destruction of the Edomites is expressed in New Living Translation as “and killed every one of them.” Knox translates “cutting them down till there was nothing left of them.”

And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another: After the armies of the Ammonites and the Moabites killed all the Edomites, they began fighting each other and ultimately demolished each other. They all helped to destroy one another is literally “they helped, a man against his friend, to destroy.” The meaning is simply “they killed each other” (New Century Version). Similar acts of self-destruction of the enemies of God’s people are recorded in the story of Gideon’s battle against the Midianites (Jdg 7.22) and in the story of Saul’s battle against the Philistines (1 Sam 14.20). The Hebrew verb translated helped may be from a root with the same consonants as the verb “to help.” This other root means “to launch an attack.” The evidence for such a root comes from the Ugaritic language, but the evidence is uncertain.

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 .