So renders the common Hebrew conjunction. However, the transition word So may be misleading since it might give the impression that Elisha’s death was the result of the events described in the previous verse or verses. In this case it seems best to drop the conjunction or possibly to translate it as a temporal transition word (New Century Version “Then”).

They buried him: The persons involved in the burial are not identified. Good News Translation, therefore, translates these words with a passive expression. But in some languages the passive form is not an option. In such cases translators may use the indefinite third person plural pronoun as in Revised Standard Version (and Hebrew), or they may say “some people buried him.”

Now renders the common Hebrew conjunction, which is translated “At the time” by New American Bible. Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, and Contemporary English Version attempt to show the transition by starting a new paragraph at this point.

Bands of Moabites: The Hebrew word for bands will have to be translated in some languages as “gangs,” “groups of thieves,” or “raiding parties” (Contemporary English Version). The same term is translated “raiders” in Gen 49.19. Compare also 1 Kgs 11.24, where it is rendered “marauding band.” Regarding the Moabites, who lived east of the Dead Sea, see the comments on 1 Kgs 11.1.

The form of the Hebrew verb rendered used to invade indicates that this was something that happened repeatedly. In some languages the use of the habitual verb form will serve the same purpose. It is possible, however, to understand the verb in a sense that is not habitual (see the Nouvelle Bible Segond translation quoted below).

The land refers to the land of Israel and this will have to be made clear in many languages.

In the spring of the year is literally “year coming.” Most interpreters accept a slight correction of the Hebrew words to read “at the coming of the year.” A different Hebrew expression is used in 1 Kgs 20.22, 26 (see the comments there), but the meaning may be the same. Other translations that say “in the spring of the year” include New Revised Standard Version and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. On the other hand, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “at the coming of every year” and this seems to be the same interpretation followed by Good News Translation and numerous other versions (including Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant), which omit any reference to spring. It is also possible to understand the Hebrew to mean that the Moabites invaded in the coming year only. Nouvelle version Segond révisée and Nouvelle Bible Segond, following this interpretation, say “The next year,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible similarly says “at the beginning of the year.” However, this interpretation is less likely correct. Gray makes a slight correction in the Hebrew text on the basis of a Septuagint manuscript and reads “at the end [going] of the year.” According to Gray, the Moabites invaded Israel in late summer after the harvest in order to loot the threshing floors. This suggestion is not followed in any translations consulted even though it makes good sense.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .