They: since this pronoun does not refer to anyone in particular, Good News Translation has used a passive construction. In some languages it may be necessary to say something like “Some of David’s men….”

In some languages it will be both clearer and more natural to give the name of the king in this context. Some will say “King David,” while others may prefer simply the name “David.”

Lifted up his voice and wept: the two verbs used together in similar contexts elsewhere have been translated “wept aloud” (1 Sam 11.4) and “raised a loud cry” (Num 14.1). The same sort of expression is also found in Gen 21.16; 27.38; and Ruth 1.9, 14.

Grave: the corresponding Hebrew word is often translated “burying place” (Gen 23.4, 9, 20), and this may be the best translation for many languages in this context. It may also be possible to use a word like “tomb,” as Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Revised English Bible have done.

All the people wept: that is, all the other people wept, or it may be better in some cases to say “all of his [David’s] men wept.” Both Moffatt and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh make it clear that the people involved were David’s soldiers: “all the troops wept.”

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 .