The Hebrew verbal transition meaning “And it happened” appears both here and at the beginning of the following verse. But most modern versions ignore it in both cases.

Since the captains of the chariots are mentioned in the previous verse, it may be better in some languages to refer to them by a pronoun in this verse (so Good News Translation).

The words they said may be taken in one of two different ways. The following words may be understood as (1) a quotation of what the chariot captains actually said to each other or (2) a statement of what these men were thinking. Given the context, the second interpretation is more likely to be correct. If this is true, it will be accurate to translate as in Good News Translation “they all thought.” This understanding is also reflected in New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, Revised English Bible, and Moffatt.

It is surely the king of Israel: Since Jehoshaphat was wearing his royal robes, the Syrian captains thought that he was Ahab.

It is not clear why Jehoshaphat cried out. The Hebrew noun rendered “cry” in verse 36 comes from a different root. The parallel passage in 2 Chr 18.31 says that he “cried out” and that God helped him, so the author of 2 Chronicles understands “cried out” to mean that Jehoshaphat prayed to God. But in this context the meaning is almost certainly correctly expressed as “Jehoshaphat shouted his battle cry” (New American Bible) or “Jehoshaphat shouted his war cry” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant).

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 .