He turned around: It should be made clear in translation that the pronoun he refers here to the prophet Elisha.
When he saw them: The wording of Revised Standard Version seems to imply that Elisha had not seen the young men up to this point. But this is almost certainly not the case since there was a crowd of nearly fifty insolent young people. The Hebrew verb here may be rendered “looked at” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). But given the context of this incident, it is possible to use an even stronger verb like “glared at” (Good News Translation) or “stared at” (Contemporary English Version; similarly Nueva Versión Internacional).
Cursed them in the name of the LORD: This should not be translated in such a way as to convey the image of an angry prophet swearing at the youths. Rather, it is to be understood as “put a curse on them…” in the sense that the prophet asked God to cause something evil to happen to them. In some cases it may have to be rendered “called on the LORD to curse them.”
And two she-bears came out of the woods: The connecting word And may seem weak in such a context. Contemporary English Version begins with “Right away.” Some other renderings of the conjunction are “Then” (New American Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Hobbs) and “Thereupon” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
The Hebrew noun rendered she-bears may be either feminine or masculine, but most interpreters seem to assume these were female bears (for example, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Nueva Versión Internacional). Female bears, like most other female animals, are particularly vicious because they are often protecting their young (2 Sam 17.8). New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Knox, and Contemporary English Version do not reflect the feminine form, but there seems no satisfactory reason for omitting it. It should be made explicit that these were female bears. If translators choose the term for female bears, in some languages New Century Version may provide a better model: “mother bears.” In situations where bears are completely unknown, translators have two alternatives. Either they may borrow a term from the dominant world language of the area or they may use a more general expression, such as “large ferocious female animals.” Parole de Vie, for example, says “wild animals.” Compare also 1 Sam 17.34-37; Dan 7.5; Amos 5.19.
The Hebrew term rendered woods is a rather general one ranging in meaning from dense forest (Zech 11.2) to a less wooded, bushy area (Micah 3.12) or “scrub” (Gray). Such woods are often described as hiding places for dangerous wild animals (Jer 5.6; Amos 3.4; Micah 5.8).
Tore forty-two of the boys: The Hebrew verb rendered tore means to break through, rip, or tear something. It may be taken in this context to mean that the bodies of the youths were torn to pieces as implied in some versions. Or it may mean that their skin was torn or “lacerated” (Gray), but not necessarily that they were killed. New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New International Version, and American Bible use the English verb “mauled,” which may or may not imply resulting death. Similarly, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “mangled.” Most likely, the intended meaning is that the boys were killed by the bears.
As in 2 Kgs 10.14, forty-two was perhaps a number used to indicate a large number. In any case, the exact number should be translated.
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 .