So: the common conjunction does not necessarily have to be translated here. It simply connects the next step in Hushai’s proposal with the previous statement.

Come upon him: this is the same verb as in verse 2. Here it may mean “manage to find him” or “attack him” (New International Version). Good News Translation uses the name “David” in place of the pronoun “him” found in the Hebrew, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “your father.”

In some place where he is to be found: this rather awkward-sounding expression means simply “in whatever place he may be” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or more simply “wherever he is” (Good News Translation).

Light upon him: the verb is supplied by Revised Standard Version, since there is none in the Hebrew at this point. The text says literally “and we upon him….” But what is to be understood is the same verb that is used in the figurative expression that follows, falls on. Where possible it will be good to find a verb that can be used in both cases, but in many languages this may not be practical. It may be necessary to use a verb like “attack” here. The exact meaning of the image as the dew falls on the ground is uncertain. What is the basis of comparison between the troops attacking David’s troops and dew falling on the ground? Is it suddenness, as Good News Translation seems to imply? Or is it the idea of total coverage as suggested by Contemporary English Version (and similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “just as dew falls and covers the ground”? Most English versions leave the answer to the imagination of the reader, but the interpretation of Contemporary English Version seems more likely—especially in the light of the statement that follows. This last statement suggests total annihilation, which is again in sharp contrast with what Ahithophel had proposed.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .