So translates the common Hebrew conjunction. The context will require some sort of logical connector in some languages. Nouvelle version Segond révisée renders the transition word as “therefore.” It is as a direct result of the lepers’ reasoning in verse 4 that they get up and go in the direction of the Syrian encampment. Some languages may omit the conjunction altogether, as in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, Revised English Bible and New American Bible.

They arose at twilight …: The Hebrew term translated twilight is sometimes rendered “dusk” (New International Version), referring to the evening when the sun is setting. In 1 Sam 30.17 the same word is rendered “twilight.” But in Job 3.9 and 7.4 it is translated “dawn,” where the context clearly indicates the darkness of the early morning. While the word is technically ambiguous, most versions have a term such as “dusk” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), “sunset” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “evening” (New Living Translation), or “twilight” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) in this passage. The reference to “morning light” in verse 9 is not very helpful. It is possible that the men went to the camp in the evening “as it began to get dark” (so Good News Translation, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Peregrino) and ate and drank and hid the items very quickly that same evening and then returned to the city that same night. But it is also possible that they went to the camp in the early morning “as it began to get light” and took all day to eat, drink, and hide the objects that they found in the Syrian camp and then returned to the city that evening.

The edge of the camp: The Hebrew word rendered edge has to do with the “end” or “extremity” of something. In Ruth 3.7 it refers to “the end of the heap of grain.” In 1 Kgs 9.10 it has to do with the end of a period of twenty years. Revised English Bible speaks of “the outskirts [of the camp].” The idea of the edge of an encampment such as this one may have to be expressed in certain languages as “the first tent…” or something similar. Some versions, such as Good News Translation and New Century Version, omit this detail, but there seems to be no compelling reason to do so.

Behold, there was no one there: Behold, which renders the Hebrew focusing particle, shifts the narrative to the point of view of these four men. Here it introduces the surprising fact that there were no Syrian soldiers left in the place where the diseased men had expected to find them. Since they had presumed that they might possibly be killed, this was all the more surprising. In some languages the best way to translate this idea may be to include it in a verbal expression like “they were surprised to see that no one was there.” Many English versions, however, simply omit the word behold altogether.

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 .