The prophet: Good News Translation, God’s Word, Bible en français courant, and La Bible du Semeur have added the word “old” to distinguish this prophet from the other prophet mentioned in this context.

And brought it back to the city: This Revised Standard Version translation is based on the Septuagint (also New Revised Standard Version, Osty-Trinquet). The Masoretic Text reads “and he brought it back and he came to the city of the old prophet.” The Masoretic Text seems to have an awkward style since “he” refers to the old prophet, so it is saying “he [the old prophet] brought it back and he [the old prophet] came to the city of the old prophet.” The Hebrew text may be followed, although a literal translation may not result in a good style in the receptor language. Notice how Revised English Bible substitutes the words “his own town” for the Hebrew words “the city of the old prophet” as follows: “and brought it back to his own town.”

La Bible Pléiade seems to follow the Masoretic Text, but it breaks up the phrase “to the city of the old prophet,” so that “the old prophet” becomes the subject of the verb “came.” La Bible Pléiade reads “… and brought it back. Then the old prophet came back to the city….” This, however, is not a natural reading of the Hebrew.

The city refers to “Bethel” (Good News Translation).

Mourn: The act of mourning involved weeping and loud crying, as seen in 2 Sam 1.12; 3.31-32; and Zech 12.10. Some languages have a special word for this type of activity while others simply use the verb “to cry.” In cultures where mourning practices differ from the biblical custom, it may be necessary to add a footnote to explain the differences.

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 .