The servants of the king of Syria: Servants here refers to the officials in the court of King Benhadad of Syria. It should probably be so translated in most languages to avoid the impression that the text is speaking of household servants (see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.2).

Since Good News Translation begins a new section here, it reintroduces the king of Syria by name and omits of Syria. If translators follow the model of Good News Translation and begin a new section here, they may wish to say “the officials of the Syrian king Benhadad.”

Their gods are gods of the hills …: Both occurrences of gods are plural in the Hebrew. Since the plural form of this noun is often used in the Old Testament to refer to the one God of Israel, some translations translate here with the singular as follows: “Their God is a God of the mountains” (La Bible du Semeur) and “The God of Israel is a God of the mountains” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). In those translations that use the singular here, the Israelites must be the subject of the Hebrew verb rendered they were stronger. Parole de Vie and Bible en français courant, for example, say “That is why the Israelites were stronger than we were.” This understanding of the Hebrew text is certainly possible. But it seems more likely that the Syrians thought that the Israelites worshiped numerous gods. If so, then Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, along with most modern translations, express the correct meaning. The fact that the plural form is clearly singular in verse 28 is explained by the fact that God is speaking about himself.

Hills translates a Hebrew noun that is the usual word for “mountain” (so New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). If a word such as hills is used in the receptor language, the reference should be to something larger than simply small hills. Samaria, the capital of Israel, was built on a high hill (1 Kgs 16.24), while Damascus, the Syrian capital, was located on a plain. For this reason the Syrian officials thought that their own gods would have more power than the God of Israel in a battle on the plain.

The translation of the word plain may present problems in certain languages. Contemporary English Version speaks of “flat land,” but in some cases translators may have to say “land where there are no mountains.”

Surely we shall be stronger than they: A possible model here is “truly we will be victorious over them.”

When the officials in Benhadad’s court are speaking directly to their king, the first person plural pronoun we will, of course, be inclusive both here and in verse 25.

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 .