And: The Hebrew conjunction here seems to mark a contrast between the woman’s statement that all was well with her family and the contradictory behavior that follows. Her actions show that she is very troubled and that everything is not all right. For this reason Good News Translation and certain other versions (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible, Contemporary English Version, Knox) begin this verse with the conjunction “but.”

When she came to the mountain: This probably refers to the summit of the mountain where Elisha lived. For this reason Contemporary English Version translates “as soon as she got to the top of the mountain.”

She caught hold of his feet: It would have been necessary for the woman to bend down or to bow before the prophet in order to take hold of his feet. This implied information is made explicit in Good News Translation and the same should probably be done in certain other languages. The action of holding a person’s feet indicates an attitude of begging. It is an extension of the act of bowing before a person in order to show humility and submission.

Gehazi came to thrust her away: Gehazi attempts to intervene by separating the woman from his master, but his insensitivity is rebuked by the prophet and she is allowed to remain at Elisha’s feet.

Let her alone: The Hebrew verb used here literally means “relax” or “withdraw.” The prophet is asking that his servant cease his efforts to keep the woman away from him. In some cases it will be more natural to state this in negative terms; for example, translators may say “Don’t stop her” or “Don’t bother her.”

The Hebrew conjunction rendered for introduces Elisha’s reason for ordering his servant not to push the woman away. In some languages it will have to be translated “because.”

She is in bitter distress is literally “her soul is bitter for her.” The same Hebrew word meaning “to be bitter” is used in the story of Naomi (Ruth 1.13, 20). New Jerusalem Bible attempts to retain much of the form of the original by saying “there is bitterness in her soul.” American Bible reads “she is embittered.” But the most natural-sounding English equivalent seems to be “She’s very upset” (New Century Version).

In some cases the order of the command and its reason will be turned around, so that the reason is given before the command; for example, “she is in bitter distress; so leave her alone.”

There may be a problem in some languages regarding the connecting word in Hebrew between the statement about how upset the woman was and the fact that the LORD had not revealed the reason for her sadness to Elisha. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have and. However, in some cases a transition word marking contrast may be more appropriate. Contemporary English Version and La Bible du Semeur use “But.”

The LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me: These two clauses say the same thing in two different ways and the second clause is negative in form. Another possible way of wording this might be “the LORD has not told me why, but he has kept it hidden from me.” On some other occasions, God did let the prophets have special knowledge of events (1 Kgs 14.5; 2 Kgs 5.26; 6.8-9, 12).

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 .