May God do so to me, and more also: The cursing formula found here is common in the books of 1-2 Samuel and 1–2 Kings. It is also used in Ruth 1.17. See the discussion at 1 Kgs 2.23 and compare also 1 Kgs 19.2 and 20.10.

If the head of Elisha … remains on his shoulders: This is a rather picturesque way for the king to insist that he would cut off the head of Elisha. Quite clearly the king of Israel blamed Elisha for the siege of his capital city. This is presumably because of the fact that the prophet had been instrumental in humiliating the Syrian army and had not allowed them to be killed in the previous story (verses 8-23). It will be recalled that Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah, had also been considered a “troubler of Israel” by King Ahab (1 Kgs 18.17).

The words the son of Shaphat, which qualify the name Elisha, are found in 2 Kgs 3.11 as well as in 1 Kgs 19.16, 19. This probably explains why Good News Translation omits them at this point, although they are absent in the Septuagint also. However, they may be repeated unless such repetition is unnecessarily awkward in the receptor language.

In some languages the order of the elements in this verse may be reversed. Here is a possible model for the verse as a whole which reverses the two main components:

• He exclaimed, “I swear I will cut off the head of Elisha [the son of Shaphat]! If I don’t do this today, may God cause me to die!”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .