The woman of Tekoa: literally “the Tekoaite woman” as in verse 4. This expression may be replaced by a pronoun if the repetition is awkward or unnatural in the receptor language.

On me be the guilt … and on my father’s house: the guilt of which the woman speaks is the guilt of not punishing the murderer as the law of Moses required. The structure here may be very troublesome to translators. Not only does the statement begin with a prepositional phrase, but this phrase is separated from a second such phrase, on my father’s house, which goes with it. The idea is “God can charge me and my family…” or “My family and I will take the blame.” The word here rendered guilt is translated “iniquity” in 1 Sam 3.13 and is often used in parallel with the word “sin.” But in this case it carries the meaning “fault” (as in 3.8) or “blame.”

My lord the king: once again this is an expression of respect that should probably not be translated literally in most languages. It will be preferable to find equivalent ways of showing such respect in the receptor language.

Let the king and his throne be guiltless: since the woman is speaking directly to the king, this expression may be unnatural in many languages. Also, to imply that a throne can be considered guilty may also be unnatural. This actually refers to the position of royal power and to anyone who may occupy it. It stands in contrast with “my father’s house” earlier in the verse. For this reason it has been rendered “the royal family” (Good News Translation).

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 .