And renders the Hebrew verbal transition that is sometimes translated “And it happened” or “And it came to pass” (Jewish Publication Version). Like Good News Translation, most modern versions do not render it explicitly in this case.
When Zimri saw that the city was taken: The passive verb was taken will have to be made active in certain languages. Possible models for those languages are “when Zimri saw that he had lost the city” and “when Zimri knew that his enemies had captured the city.”
The citadel of the king’s house: The Hebrew noun rendered citadel, which occurs also in 2 Kgs 15.25, most likely refers to a heavily fortified area of the palace and is therefore translated “citadel” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Bible), “fortress” (Good News Translation), or “keep” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible du Semeur), that is, the strongest and most secure part of a castle. Gray, however, argues that the Hebrew noun here refers not to a fortified area of the palace but simply to the residence of the king within the larger palace complex, which included storehouses, administrative quarters, and other buildings. Gray, accordingly, translates “the residence of the palace-complex.”
Burned the king’s house over him with fire: In the Hebrew text there is no explicit subject for the verb burned. Most interpreters and translators understand this to mean that Zimri burned the palace down “over himself” (so New Living Translation) as a way of committing suicide. It is, however, possible that the subject of the verb is Omri, that is, that Omri burned the palace down while Zimri was inside of it. Translators are advised to adopt the understanding of the majority of scholars and make sure that Zimri is understood as the subject of the verb burned. For burned … with fire, see the comments on 1 Kgs 9.16.
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 .