As soon as he was king is literally “And it was in his ruling.” The Hebrew construction expresses instantaneous action, as in 1 Kgs 16.11 (where the Hebrew differs a little and is rendered “When he began to reign”). Moffatt says “No sooner was he king, than….”

He killed all the house of Jeroboam; he left … not one that breathed: The house of Jeroboam refers, of course, to the members of the royal family of Jeroboam. All persons related to him had to be eliminated in order to ensure that there would be no possibility that anyone could claim a right to the throne. The text strongly emphasizes this by using the expression he left … not one that breathed.

According to the word of the LORD … by his servant Ahijah: See 1 Kgs 14.10, 14. By is literally “by the hand of.” It may be wise to follow the example of Good News Translation by reminding the readers that Ahijah was a “prophet.”

For the Shilonite, see the comments on 1 Kgs 11.29.

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 .