He said: The speaker in this verse may have to be specifically identified by name. Good News Translation, for example, has “Elijah replied,” which also translates the verb more contextually.

You have asked a hard thing: In some languages this will have to be translated with something like “The matter you have asked for is not an easy matter to make happen” or “It will not be easy for me to make this thing happen.”

Yet reflects nothing in the Hebrew, but the context seems to allow a contrastive conjunction, for example, “yet” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version), “But” (Good News Translation, New Century Version), and “Still” (New American Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible have no conjunction here.

If you see me as I am being taken from you …: The condition for Elisha’s receiving what he requested is that he be physically present and actually see Elijah being taken up into heaven by God. The expression as I am being taken from you has been rendered “while I am being snatched away from you” by New Jerusalem Bible. In languages without passive verb forms, translators may say “while God is taking me away from you” or something similar.

The expressions it shall be so for you and it shall not be so are merely ways of saying “you will get what you asked for” and “you will not get what you asked for.” Revised English Bible translates “your wish will be granted” and “it will not be granted.” Along the same lines, New Jerusalem Bible has “it will be as you ask” and “it will not be so.” In some languages it may sound awkward to use both these expressions since they are only the positive and negative statements of the same idea. If this is the case, the Contemporary English Version model for the last half of the verse may be helpful: “It can happen only if you see me as I am being taken away.”

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 .