Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him: The fact that Isaiah is a prophet is given in 2 Kgs 19.2 and in verse 11 of this chapter, so some translators may feel that it is unnecessary to mention it again here. However, he comes to the king in his prophetic role and unless it is quite unnatural, the word prophet may be retained for emphasis.

Whether the receptor language uses the verb came (Revised Standard Version) or “went” (Good News Translation) will depend on the presumed perspective of the writer.

The verb said may be better translated “asked” (Good News Translation) in some languages since questions follow.

What did these men say? And whence did they come to you?: These two questions asked by Isaiah do not appear to be in logical order. In English, at least, it would probably be considered more natural to ask where people came from before asking what they said (so Good News Translation). Naturalness in the receptor language should determine the order of these two questions in translation.

They have come from a far country, from Babylon: The expression from a far country stands in apposition with from Babylon. Translators should feel free to use whatever structure is natural in the receptor language that contains both the name of the visitors’ country of origin and the fact that it was far away from Judah. Contemporary English Version combines the two in the expression “all the way from Babylonia.” As the context indicates, Babylon refers to the country of “Babylonia” (Good News Translation) and not just to the capital city.

The text shows that the king answered only one of the two questions asked, the one concerning the origin of the visitors. Nevertheless, the prophet goes on to ask another question in the following verse.

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 .