And as soon as: The Hebrew text of this verse begins with the verbal transition that is sometimes rendered “And it came to pass” (Jewish Publication Version). If the words as soon as are translated literally, they may invoke an idea of immediacy that is not essential to the meaning here. Another way of beginning this verse is with a time clause, such as “When…” (New American Bible) or “After…” (New International Version).

The royal power was firmly in his hand: This expression refers to power or control by Amaziah. In many languages it will be helpful to introduce the name “Amaziah” at this point as in Good News Translation and New American Bible. The wording of the text seems to suggest that there may have been some sort of brief power struggle from which Amaziah emerged the unquestionable ruler. While the wording is not the same, the situation here seems comparable to the struggle for power following the death of David (see 1 Kgs 2.46). Some other ways of translating this expression are “the kingdom was firmly under his control” (New Jerusalem Bible), “Amaziah had the kingdom firmly in hand” (New American Bible), and “the kingdom was firmly in his grasp” (New International Version).

His servants refers to Jozacar and Jehozabad (12.20-21). As is often the case in the Old Testament, the term servants refers to high-level officials of the king’s court rather than to domestic household servants (see the comments at 1 Kgs 1.2). A literal rendering is therefore likely to be misunderstood in many languages. These officials had been involved in a plot to assassinate Joash, the father of Amaziah, and therefore had to be executed.

The king his father: It will be more natural in certain languages to reverse the order of the words in this phrase and say something like “his father who was the king.” It will also be important in some cases to make it clear that Amaziah’s father was no longer considered king. Some may therefore prefer to say that they murdered “his father when he was king.”

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 .