He made haste to take the bandage away from his eyes: The implied subject of the verbs here is the prophet. Revised Standard Version follows the form of the Hebrew in translating both verbs, made haste and take … away. In Hebrew the first verb is used as an adverb, and the whole sentence may be translated “he quickly took off the cloth from his face.” Compare Moffatt: “Hurriedly the man pulled off his bandage.” Good News Translation uses the single verb “tore” to show the hurried nature of this action.

Bandage translates the same Hebrew noun as in verse 38.

The text does not state how the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. Some interpreters suggest that the prophets had some distinguishing incision on their foreheads or shaved their heads, but this is not certain. It is also possible that the king recognized and knew this particular prophet.

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 .