On the ninth day of the fourth month: Instead of the reading adopted by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, the traditional Hebrew text has simply “on the ninth day of the month.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament states that “Although Jer 39.2 and 52.6 explicitly state which month it was, the present text of Kings, where this indication is lacking, should not be assimilated to these passages.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the reading without the word fourth. Nevertheless, most English versions include mention of the fourth month. Those translations that do not include the numeral are few (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Hobbs). La Bible du Semeur encloses the word “fourth” in square brackets, indicating that it is not in the best texts (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Osty-Trinquet). This may be a good solution for other languages. Even versions like King James Version and New American Standard Bible, which usually adhere very closely to the Masoretic Text, include the word fourth in italics. The fourth month is equivalent to mid-June to mid-July.

Famine: See the comments on this term at 1 Kgs 8.37 and 2 Kgs 4.38.

There was no food for the people of the land: Clearly there was no food (literally “bread”) left for anyone. If the expression the people of the land is taken in some special sense (see the discussion at 2 Kgs 11.14), it would indicate that even the elite of the land had nothing to eat. But it is more probable that the expression here refers to the people in general. In either case there was no more food for anyone in Jerusalem.

Contemporary English Version restructures verses 2-3 together as follows:

• After a year and a half, all the food in Jerusalem was gone. Then, on the ninth day of the fourth month….

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 .