When it was told: as in verse 5, this passive expression will have to be made active in many languages by saying “when David heard about it” or “when someone told David about it.” See also 3.23 and 6.12.

Gathered all Israel together: in this expression all Israel refers to the fighting forces of Israel and not to every single person including women and children. This should probably be made clear in translation as Good News Translation has done. David and his troops crossed the Jordan, going from the west side to the east side.

Arrayed themselves: see verses 8-10, where this same expression is used.

Fought: since the description of the battle continues in the following verse, this verb form in English may be misleading. The idea at this point is that the battle began. In some cases it may be best to translate “the battle started” or, if the Syrians are still the subject, a verb like “attacked” or “charged” may be most natural.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .