David was on his way to Jerusalem, so it may give a false impression to say literally that the king came back to the Jordan, since that was not his final destination. The point is that he had started back to Jerusalem, and when he reached the Jordan River, he met the people of Judah. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch states “So the king began his way back toward Jerusalem….” It will be important in some languages to add the word “river” to Jordan and “town” to Gilgal to make the meaning clear. The Hebrew is literally “And the king returned and he came as far as the Jordan.” The sense is better expressed in Anchor Bible, “So the king started back and reached the Jordan…” (similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Judah: that is, the people of the tribe of Judah. Translators should be careful to avoid giving the impression that one individual is intended here.

Gilgal: this city, located at the beginning of the territory of Judah, was between the Jordan River and Jericho. The people of Judah had apparently gathered there in preparation for meeting David and his men at the Jordan River, which was only about eight kilometers (five miles) away. Compare Josh 4.19 and 1 Sam 7.16.

The repetition of the king may be intended to emphasize the fact that David was once again considered king of the whole of Israel and Judah. But in some languages it may be more natural to translate the second occurrence by a pronoun.

A model for this verse as a whole is as follows:

• King David started back to Jerusalem. And when he came to the Jordan River, the people of Judah met him there. They had [previously] assembled at the town of Gilgal because they wanted to accompany [or, help] him across the river.

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 .