And of Jezebel the LORD also said: Nearly all translations include verses 23-24 as part of Elijah’s prophecy to Ahab. In some translations this is shown by enclosing all of verses 20b-24 within quotation marks as the words spoken by Elijah (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, De Vries). Other translations make explicit that these are Elijah’s words by adding the words “Elijah continued” or something similar. Bible en français courant for example, begins verse 23 as follows: “And, added Elijah, the Lord has also spoken against Jezebel…” (similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). In verse 24 some translations also change the third person reference about Ahab to a direct second person address to Ahab (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).
It is possible, however, to consider one or both of these verses as the author’s parenthetical comments to the reader, as verses 25-26 are. Notice that in verse 23 the LORD is referred to in the third person, as is Ahab in verse 24. But, on the other hand, since it is common in Hebrew narratives for the speaker to switch back and forth between second and third person pronouns, it is possible that verses 23-24 are still Elijah’s words to Ahab and are not the author’s comment to his readers.
New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible place verse 23 only within parentheses as a parenthetical comment. Peregrino similarly includes only verse 23 within parentheses, but reverses the order of verses 23-24 in order that all of Elijah’s words to Ahab (verses 20b-22 and 24) appear together. Since Hebrew did not use quotation marks or parentheses, any of these interpretations is possible and may be followed.
The fulfillment of Elijah’s prophecy regarding Jezebel is found in 2 Kgs 9.36.
Within the bounds of Jezreel: The words within the bounds of translate a single Hebrew noun (chel) whose exact meaning is uncertain. In later Hebrew it came to mean the space between outer and inner ramparts (walls). This seems to be the basis for the rendering “near the rampart of Jezreel” (Revised English Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond). Other interpreters have tried to explain the meaning of this Hebrew noun by comparing it to similar words in Arabic that mean “by” and “round about.”
Instead of the noun chel in the Masoretic Text, a few Hebrew manuscripts, followed by some ancient versions, have the noun cheleq, which means “portion” or “territory.” This is the basis for the translations “in the district of Jezreel” (New American Bible) and “in the field of Jezreel” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible). This reading agrees with the parallel passage in 2 Kgs 9.10, but it is possible that a scribe changed the reading to “in the territory” in order to make this verse agree with the text in 2 Kings. It is difficult to know which Hebrew text to follow here, but a rendering such as “at the foot of the wall of Jezreel” (Bible en français courant) or “by the wall of Jezreel” (New International Version) may be the best solution.
The embedded quotation of the LORD in this verse may be a problem for some languages. If this is true, the Good News Translation model may be followed since it resorts to indirect speech. God’s Word provides another possible model:
• Then the LORD also spoke [through Elijah] about Jezebel: “The dogs will eat Jezebel inside the walls of Jezreel.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .