Him who was in charge of the wardrobe: The Hebrew word translated wardrobe occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. Its meaning is, therefore, the subject of some discussion. But it is generally agreed that the phrase here refers to a person who was responsible for the special clothing that the admirers of Baal wore during their worship services. A legitimate translation, therefore, might be “the person who took care of the special clothes for the worship of Baal.” New Century Version has “the man who kept the robes.”

Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal: The word vestments, which occurs twice in this verse, refers to the special clothing that the guardian of the wardrobe kept in reserve for such occasions. New Living Translation translates the words of Jehu as “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” The direct quotation of the text may be rendered indirectly if this is more natural in the receptor language. Good News Translation provides a good model for this approach.

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 .