So: this reflects the common Hebrew conjunction, but the transition word shows that what follows was a result of what has just been said in the previous verse. For this reason a number of English versions use a transition word like “So” or “Accordingly” (New American Bible), although some leave it untranslated (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible).
It will be more natural in some languages to use the name “David” than to say the king as in Revised Standard Version and the Hebrew original. Others may prefer to combine the two, “King David.”
The difference in meaning between Revised Standard Version (Joab and the commanders of the army) and Good News Translation “Joab, [who was] the commander of his army” reflects a textual problem in which the bulk of the evidence supports the singular of the noun “commander” and thus supports the Good News Translation rendering. Other versions follow those manuscripts of the ancient Greek version that have the plural (Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and New American Bible), which is in keeping with the parallel in 1 Chronicles. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, recommends the reading “Joab, the commander of the army,” which is adopted by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Fox, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and New American Standard Bible as well as Good News Translation. In verse 4 the plural form is clearly used, but this is not necessarily proof that the plural should be read here. The most compelling argument in favor of the plural is the fact that the verb number [the people] is plural, which implies that the army commanders are included in the instructions. Good News Translation provides a good model, showing that David spoke to Joab only, but that the instructions are directed toward both Joab and his commanders.
From Dan to Beer-sheba: that is, “from one end of the country to the other” as in Good News Translation. Compare 3.10; 17.11; Judges 20.1; 1 Sam 3.20. Since Good News Translation omits the names of these cities, a better model may be “From Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Or compare Contemporary English Version, which is very similar: “From the town of Dan in the north all the way south to Beersheba.”
The verb translated number [the people] is different from the Hebrew verb translated “number” in verse 1. The verb used in this verse often means “to search out,” but these two verbs in verses 1 and 2 are used here as synonyms.
As often in 1 and 2 Samuel, the Hebrew noun the people is used in the restricted sense of “the soldiers” or “the troops.” New International Version provides a useful model, “… and enroll the fighting men.” As noted in the comments on verse 1, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says here “the men fit for military service.”
The direct quotation of what David said to Joab may also be made indirect if it is more natural to do so in the receptor language. One possibility is to say “David told Joab … to take his officers and go through all the tribes of Israel from one end of the country to the other in order to count the men fit for military service. He said this because he wanted to know how many people there were.”
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 .