The first half of this verse is a quotation of something that the LORD had said concerning Ahab, and Jehu was somehow aware of it. In this context it is presented as a quotation within the larger quotation of what Jehu was saying to his assistant Bidkar. It may be wise in many languages to make it an indirect quotation rather than a direct one. The model of Contemporary English Version given below is an example of one way to do this.
As surely as I saw … is literally “If not I saw….” The dependent clause that begins in this way should probably be made into a separate sentence in many languages in order to make the meaning clearer. The construction is intended to state an absolute certainty. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh attempts to make this assurance clear by translating “I swear, I have taken note…” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible).
Yesterday: The use of this term in a quotation from a previous incident is confusing and adds little to the story at this point. If the direct quotation is translated indirectly, it may be difficult to include this element.
The words says the LORD should probably be omitted altogether or shifted to the beginning or the end of the quotation of the LORD. In many languages it is unacceptable to interrupt speech with such words. The Hebrew actually repeats these words after the clause I will requite you on this plot of ground, but Revised Standard Version does not translate this second occurrence. Perhaps this repetition was to emphasize that what is happening is in agreement with what God had said would happen. A possible model maintaining the repetition of the Hebrew might use a kind of envelope structure in some languages as follows: “This is the LORD’s message: ‘Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, so today I will repay you on this plot of land.’ Yes, this is the LORD’s message.”
I will requite you: The verb here may mean “reward,” “repay” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible), or “punish” (Good News Translation, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version). But in this context there can be no doubt that punishment is involved. New International Version retains the word “pay” but with the clear meaning of punishment by saying “I will surely make you pay for it.”
Take him up and cast him on the plot of ground: The intentional repetition of these words from verse 25 is probably intended to show how the promise of Yahweh was definitely fulfilled. The promise concerning King Ahab is found in 1 Kgs 21.19.
In accordance with the word of the LORD; that is, “in keeping with the word of the LORD” (New American Bible) or “as Yahweh declared should happen” (New Jerusalem Bible).
Contemporary English Version provides a possible model for the translation of verses 25-26 combined:
• Jehu commanded his assistant Bidkar, “Get Joram’s body and throw it in the field that Naboth once owned. Do you remember when you and I used to ride side by side behind Joram’s father Ahab? It was then that the LORD swore to Ahab that he would be punished in the same field where he had killed Naboth and his sons. So throw Joram’s body there, just as the LORD said.”
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 .