When Solomon was told: The Hebrew does not make explicit the agent of the verb told. Good News Translation restates this clause by making “Solomon” the subject of the verb “heard.” In some languages where passive forms of the verb do not exist, an indefinite third person plural construction may be used, such as “when they told Solomon….” Another possible rendering is “when Solomon learned….”

That Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and returned: For reasons of English style, Good News Translation simplifies the repetition of the Hebrew and says simply “what Shimei had done.”

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 .