And: The common Hebrew conjunction here may be better translated as a temporal connector (so Good News Translation). Or, in some cases, it may be better left untranslated in this context.

Elisha said to them: The Hebrew text leaves implicit the fact that Elisha left the confines of his city and went out to the place where the Syrian soldiers were located in order to speak with them. In some languages it will be helpful to make this more explicit as Good News Translation has done. It may also be wise to replace the pronoun them with a noun phrase referring more clearly to “the soldiers” (Bible en français courant) or “the Syrian soldiers.”

This is not the way, and this is not the city: The words not the way and not the city may have to be made more explicit in certain languages. Also, it will probably be inadvisable to join the two clauses with the conjunction and as if they refer to two totally different matters. The essence of what Elisha was saying to the Syrians is that they had been mistaken: this is not the correct road to lead you to the person you are seeking; this is not the city you are looking for. One possible model would be “You have found the wrong city because you have taken the wrong road.” Another possibility might be “You will not find the person you are looking for because you went the wrong way. This is not the city you are seeking.”

In some languages it will not be possible to say follow me as if the Syrians could see where Elisha was leading them. Rather, it will be essential to translate “follow the sound of my voice.”

He led them to Samaria: For Samaria see the introductory comments on 1 Kgs 16.21-28. The irony of leading an enemy army directly to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, would not have been lost on the original readers and hearers of this story. But today’s readers may not recall the importance of this city. It would certainly be legitimate to add a footnote on Samaria, but in some cases it might even be possible to translate “the capital Samaria” or something similar.

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 .