Then: the common Hebrew conjunction indicates the next step in a sequence of events.

Sent home: since David’s home was the royal palace, Tamar was “in the palace” as Good News Translation indicates. He sent the message to her there and ordered that she do as Amnon had requested. Some translators may prefer to say “sent a messenger to tell Tamar….”

Amnon’s house: only here does the reader find out for sure that Amnon is in a different house and not in another part of the royal palace. This may affect the translation of the expression “comes to see you” and “came to see him” in verses 5 and 6. The Hebrew contains the particle of entreaty, which is not translated in Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation. Compare New American Bible, “Please go to the house of your brother.” Translators should use an expression that a king would use when asking his daughter to do something.

Prepare food: here the more general terminology is used as in verse 5. There is no mention of the specific kind of food that Amnon speaks of in verse 6.

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 .