Your servant was busy here and there: Once again the indirect third person reference, your servant, will in most cases be better translated by a first person singular pronoun. Was busy here and there may not sound natural if translated literally. Translators may prefer to adopt one of the following models: “I was busy with one thing and another” (Revised English Bible), “I was busy doing this and that,” or possibly “I had a lot of other work to do.”

He was gone: The pronoun he is emphatic in Hebrew. There is no verb in Hebrew here. There is rather an adverb followed by a third person singular pronominal suffix. While this is difficult to translate literally, the meaning is clear. De Vries says “he was not there.” Others translate “the man disappeared” (New International Version) or “the prisoner escaped” (Contemporary English Version).

So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it: The king’s reply consists of four words only in Hebrew, which is literally “so your-judgment; you decided.” The meaning of his reply may be expressed quite differently in other languages. The idea is that by presenting what happened, the verdict was already clear. Contemporary English Version has “You will be punished just as you have said.” This implies that the threat stated in verse 39 will now be carried out. You yourself have decided it refers to allowing the prisoner to escape. This may be translated in other languages in one of the following ways: “You have said what the punishment is” (International Children’s Bible) or “you have pronounced your own sentence.”

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 .