When the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it: The prophet refers to the old prophet from Bethel and not the prophet from Judah; and the words brought him back from the way refer to the incident recorded in verses 15-19.

He said, “It is the man of God … him…”: This verse contains several third person singular pronouns. Translators need to be sure that the antecedents are clear in the receptor language. He refers to the old prophet, and each occurrence of him refers to the prophet from Judah.

The word of the LORD is literally “the mouth of the LORD,” as in verse 21.

The LORD has given him to the lion: This clause simply means that the LORD allowed a lion to attack him. However, it focuses on the fact that the LORD caused the attack. Alternative models are “the LORD sent a lion to attack him” (similarly Contemporary English Version, New Century Version) and “the LORD caused a lion to attack him” (similarly New Living Translation).

Torn renders a Hebrew verb with a wide range of meanings depending on the context. It is used, for example, of breaking down a door (Gen 19.9) and of breaking bones (Exo 12.46). In this context torn him has been translated “attack … him” (Good News Translation), “broken his neck” (Revised English Bible, which says “broken the back” in verse 28), “broken his bones” (Parole de Vie), and “mauled him” (Anchor Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

According to the word which the LORD spoke to him is a reference to the prophecy of the old prophet in verses 21-22.

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 .