Verses 23-24a consist of the words that God spoke to the prophet Shemaiah. Within these words, verse 24a consists of the words that Shemaiah was to speak to the people of the southern kingdom. Good News Translation avoids the quotation within a quotation by turning verse 23 into an indirect quotation. This model may be helpful in other languages where embedded quotations present a particular problem. It will be noted that Good News Translation also leaves implicit that Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and king of Judah.

To all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people: It is not clear to whom the rest of the people refers. Most likely it refers to the people from the northern tribes who were living in the kingdom of Judah (see verse 17). Some modern translations omit these words (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), possibly taking the rest of the people as in apposition to all the house of Judah and Benjamin. But the words the rest of the people should be translated and their meaning should be made clear. A possible translation is “to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and to all of the people from northern Israel who live in Judah.” A different interpretation is also possible. This phrase may refer to people living in the northern kingdom who are loyal to God. But this second interpretation does not fit as well with what follows in verse 24.

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 .