To the king: that is, “to David” or, perhaps better, “to King David.”

Behold: the particle found here may be understood in its more common sense in this context. Jonadab is urging David to look at the men coming toward them to verify that they are indeed his sons. It should therefore probably be translated “Look” (New Century Version) or “There!” (New American Bible and Moffatt).

The king’s sons: another indirect reference to David, to whom Jonadab is speaking. This will be better rendered “your sons” in most cases.

Instead of the verb form have come, it will be better in some cases to say “are coming,” or possibly “have arrived.”

Your servant: this is yet another case of the speaker referring to himself in the third person in order to show his respect for the king. It will be better translated in most languages by the first person singular pronoun, but if there is a natural way of showing the respect indicated by this formula, it may be used here. Compare verse 24 as well as 9.2.

So it has come about: Jonadab is simply saying to David “I told you so.” Receptor language considerations will determine the order of the last elements in this verse. Translators may choose between “Just as I told you, your sons are coming back” or “your sons are returning home, just as I said they would.”

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 .