The conversation among the four diseased men continues with a rather complicated structure, including a quotation within the larger quotation, which may be unnatural if translated literally in some languages. The word if is used four times in this verse as the desperate men consider all their options. They consider three possibilities: (1) to stay where they are and do nothing; (2) to go back into the city where people are dying of starvation; and (3) to go into the enemy camp to plead for mercy. The first two options would mean almost certain death by starvation. But to go out toward the Syrian army would also very likely result in their death. However, they conclude that since there is at least the possibility that the Syrians would not kill them, it would be worth the risk to go in their direction.

New Century Version simplifies the structure of the verse by using six separate sentences as follows:

• There is no food in the city. So if we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will die. So let’s go to the Aramean [Syrian] camp. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, we die.

Another possible model might read:

• We have three paths that we can take: we can stay here, or we can go back into the city, or we can go over to the camp of the Syrians. If we stay here or if we go back into the city, we will certainly die for lack of food. But if we go out to the Syrians, they might allow us to live. It is better to do this, since we will certainly die otherwise.

Since the four men are speaking among themselves, all of the first person plural pronouns will be inclusive in languages that make this distinction.

So now come is literally “and now go [or, walk].” Good News Translation omits now come for reasons of style since they seem redundant in English.

Let us go over to the camp of the Syrians: The Hebrew verb that is used here often means “to fall.” As in 1 Sam 29.3, the context requires this verb to be rendered “desert to” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible), “defect to” (NET Bible), or “surrender to” (New Living Translation) the Syrians in their camp. Syrians is literally “Aram” here and in verses 5-6, 10, 12, and 14-16, but this use of the singular in a collective sense is common (see the comments on 1 Kgs 20.20). In some languages it will be more natural to translate the camp of the Syrians as “the place where the Syrians are spending the night” or “the tent village of the Syrians.”

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 .