But: The Hebrew text begins with the verbal transition meaning “And it happened,” but most translations use a term that shows contrast since the course of action taken by Mesha is the opposite of what he had been doing previously.

When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel: Translators should make it clear that Ahab was a king of Israel and that the rebellion which took place following his death was against “the new king of Israel” (Parole de Vie), who replaced him. A favorable time for a rebellion would be at the point of leadership change. Bible en français courant says “when King Ahab died, Mesha rebelled against his successor Joram.”

Since Mesha is spoken of as the king of Moab in the previous verse, it may be more natural in some languages simply to refer to him by his proper name here, as Good News Translation, Bible en français courant and Contemporary English Version have done.

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 .