Hazael said: The verb said will be more naturally translated “asked” in many languages since it is followed by a question.

Why does my lord weep?: This question follows the usual Hebrew custom of addressing a respected person indirectly (my lord) rather than directly. But in many languages this would be confusing and it will be more natural to speak directly. It will, however, be important to try to reflect the same respect as in the original text, perhaps by using a title of respect. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible do so by translating “sir” after the question and New Century Version has “master.”

Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel …: Elisha’s answer to Hazael is an explanation of why he was crying. In certain languages it is impossible to begin a sentence with a word like Because. Rather, translators are required to say “I am crying because….” This may prove to be more natural even in cases where the shorter form is possible.

Elisha goes on to list four specific reasons for his sadness. They are all related to the future cruelty of Hazael with regard to the people of Israel. The Hebrew verbs describing his cruel actions are all second person singular. In each of the cruel events mentioned, the objects of the verbs come before the verbs in Hebrew. The usual order in Hebrew is verb plus object, but the affected object is placed sometimes before the verb for the sake of emphasis. This seems to be the reason for the unusual word order here. Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, like most modern translations, follow the normal English word order with the direct object following the verb. The Hebrew is literally “their fortresses you will send on fire, and their young men with the sword you will slay, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.” Translators should try to put emphasis on these direct objects in a way that is natural in their languages.

You will set on fire their fortresses is literally “their fortresses you will set on fire.” The Hebrew word rendered fortresses is translated “fortified city” by Revised Standard Version at 2 Kgs 3.19. In this verse New Living Translation says “fortified cities” and Contemporary English Version has “walled cities,” both of which express the meaning more clearly in English than the word fortresses.

Since Elisha, the speaker, is a member of the Israelite community, it may not be appropriate in certain languages for him to use the pronoun their. Instead, he would rather say “… our fortresses.” This will also be the case where the pronoun their is used in each of the statements that follow.

You will slay their young men with the sword: The Hebrew word translated young men may be rendered “picked warriors” (New Jerusalem Bible) since it often has this meaning. The words with the sword contain the notion of warfare, so the idea is that of being killed on the battlefield. The whole expression might read “you will kill our best soldiers in battle” or “you will kill our young people in war.” The same expression is used in Amos 4.10.

Dash in pieces their little ones: New Century Version translates “You will throw their babies to the ground.” But the meaning is probably even stronger than this. Contemporary English Version says “You will even crush the heads of their babies.” Such cruelty is referred to in Isa 13.16; Hos 13.16 and Nahum 3.10. It is also reminiscent of Psa 137.9.

Rip up their women with child: The ultimate in merciless behavior is taking the life of both a mother and her child even before the child is born. The same expression is used in 2 Kgs 15.16; Hos 13.16 (14.1 in the Masoretic Text) and Amos 1.13. Rip actually translates the Hebrew verb meaning “to split.” Women with child refers to pregnant women. Languages have a wide variety of euphemistic expressions to speak of pregnancy. Some say “to have a stomach” or something similar. In other languages it may be perfectly natural to say directly that the women in question were “pregnant” as most modern English versions do.

The fulfillment of Elisha’s prophecy concerning Hazael and the defeat of Israel by the Syrian army is recorded in 2 Kgs 10.32-33 and 13.3-7, 22-23, though without the graphic detail of the prophetic statement given here.

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 .