In Hebrew this verse begins with the verbal transition that is sometimes rendered “And it happened,” but here it is left untranslated in most modern versions.

He said: The verb said will be more naturally rendered “asked” in certain languages since a question follows.

Is it peace, Jehu?: The same question asked by the two messengers (verses 17-19) and by Jehu’s fellow officers (verse 11) is now asked by King Joram. Joram was apparently asking Jehu if he was coming in peace or coming to attack him, but some interpreters think it more likely that he was asking if all was well on the battlefront. Jehu’s answer, however, suggests that a translation such as “Are you coming in peace?” (Good News Translation) is the intended meaning.

What peace can there be, so long as the harlotries and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?: This question is really a means of denying that peace is possible under present conditions. In some languages the question format will have to be dropped in favor of a categorical statement, such as “There cannot be any peace….” New Century Version adopts this solution, saying “There will never be any order [peace] as long as your mother Jezebel worships idols and uses witchcraft.” But this model leaves out the idea contained in the words so many.

The Hebrew word translated harlotries (New Revised Standard Version “whoredoms,” New Jerusalem Bible “prostitutions”) has a figurative meaning here and stands for “idolatry” (as in Hos 1.2; 5.4; Nahum 3.4). Revised English Bible says “obscene idol-worship.” For the last half of Jehu’s response, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translates “as long as your mother Jezebel continues to prostitute herself to other gods and make magic.” The Hebrew word for sorceries refers to practices also known as witchcraft, voodoo, or black magic. This term is also found in Isa 47.9, 12; Micah 5.12 and Nahum 3.4 (where Revised Standard Version renders it “charms”).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Him who was in charge of the wardrobe: The Hebrew word translated wardrobe occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. Its meaning is, therefore, the subject of some discussion. But it is generally agreed that the phrase here refers to a person who was responsible for the special clothing that the admirers of Baal wore during their worship services. A legitimate translation, therefore, might be “the person who took care of the special clothes for the worship of Baal.” New Century Version has “the man who kept the robes.”

Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal: The word vestments, which occurs twice in this verse, refers to the special clothing that the guardian of the wardrobe kept in reserve for such occasions. New Living Translation translates the words of Jehu as “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” The direct quotation of the text may be rendered indirectly if this is more natural in the receptor language. Good News Translation provides a good model for this approach.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

So: The common Hebrew conjunction here may be taken as either logical (so Revised Standard Version) or temporal (for example, “Then”). Possibly the temporal understanding is better in this context. But a number of modern versions drop the transition word altogether (so Good News Translation).

All the people of the land: See the comments at verse 14.

The Hebrew verb rendered rejoiced is translated in certain versions in such a way as to mean that this was something internal without any outward manifestation. In addition to Good News Translation, certain other modern translations seem to take it in this way; for example, New Jerusalem Bible has “were delighted” and New Century Version says “were very happy.” Such renderings are acceptable, but it is quite possible to understand the verb as referring to a vocal and visible celebration. Possible models for this meaning are “shouted for joy” and “celebrated” (Contemporary English Version).

And the city was quiet: If the rejoicing was in fact an open demonstration of the people’s happiness, then the calmness of the city must have followed the rejoicing rather than happening at the same time. So the transition word between the two clauses is important. Translators may consider saying “after that, the city was quiet.” The city here means “Jerusalem” and in some languages it may be beneficial to the reader to make this quite clear by using the proper name.

After Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the king’s house is literally “and Athaliah they killed with the sword at the king’s house.” Some interpreters have thought that the author used two different sources in this chapter, each of which told about the death of Athaliah (verses 16 and 20). According to this understanding, verse 20 is a second statement, taken from a different source, about the death of Athaliah. But these words should be understood as a summary of the preceding events and not as a further development in the story. Since this is a summary statement, Revised Standard Version uses the pluperfect (past perfect) verb “had been slain.”

The relationships between the different clauses in this verse may be understood in a variety of ways. According to some interpreters, all the people of the land refers to the general population of Judah, who were loyal to the worship of Israel’s God. These people rejoiced because of the destruction of the temple of Baal, but the people in the capital city of Jerusalem had fallen under the influence of Baal worship and were not rejoicing. This interpretation is reflected in the New Jerusalem Bible translation, where there is a contrast between what the people of the country did and what the city did: “All the people of the country were delighted; the city, however, made no move.”

If, however, there is no intended contrast between two groups, then the sense may be that the city was quiet even though Athaliah had been killed. Or more likely, it seems logical that the rejoicing of the people and the subsequent calm in the city were both the result of Queen Athaliah’s execution. So a possible model for the whole verse is the following:

• Then all the people of the land celebrated; and after that Jerusalem was calm because the soldiers had killed Athaliah [with the sword] at the royal palace.

Compare also the following translation in New Living Translation:

• So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was peaceful because Athaliah had been killed at the king’s palace.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Verses 12-13 are repeated in 2 Kgs 14.15-16. Some scholars think that verses 12-13 are out of place here since other stories about King Jehoash follow in verses 14-25. In any case, these verses are clearly part of the Hebrew text and should be translated. It is helpful to treat verses 12-13 as one paragraph (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).

The formula used here is quite similar to verse 8 (see the comments there). But in this verse additional information is included. The words the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah describe an important and distinctive feature of the reign of Jehoash over Israel, which is further mentioned in 2 Kgs 14.8-14. The Hebrew word translated might refers not so much to Jehoash’s physical strength as to his boldness or “valor” (New American Bible) in confronting the enemy (see the comments at 1 Kgs 16.5). Hobbs translates this “his great military exploits in his war with Amaziah king of Judah.”

Note that Good News Translation uses “Jehoash,” the longer form of the name Joash, in order to distinguish him from his counterpart in the southern kingdom (see the comments on verse 9).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

All the people of Judah: The wording of the Hebrew text seems to emphasize the fact that the people of Judah were unanimous in their choice of the new king. So those who killed Amaziah were in support of the rest of his family, which is unusual in the Old Testament. The word all is omitted by Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version, but there seems to be no reason to leave this element out. Revised English Bible attempts to convey the idea by translating “acting together.”

Azariah: This king of Judah, who was the son of Amaziah and father of Jotham, is referred to sometimes as Uzziah and less frequently as Azariah (here and in 2 Kgs 15.1, 6-8, 17, 23, 27). Translators are advised to use the name “Uzziah” (so Good News Translation) throughout the Old Testament since it is much more common (four times in 2 Kgs 15; thirteen times in 2 Chr 26–27; Isa 1.1; 6.1; 7.1; Hos 1.1; Amos 1.1; Zech 14.5). Uzziah is also the form found in the New Testament (Matt 1.8-9). See the comments in Appendix B, “Who’s Who among the Kings?”

Made him king: The Hebrew here has a causative form of the verb meaning “to rule” or “to be king.” Compare 1 Kgs 11.24.

Instead of his father Amaziah may be rendered “to replace Amaziah his father.” The same expression is used in 1 Kgs 5.1, where it says Solomon replaced his father David.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Made a conspiracy: See the comments on 2 Kgs 12.20.

The son of Remaliah: This repetitive phrase may be omitted at this point if it seems awkward in the language of translation. See the comments on verse 25.

Struck him down, and slew him: The two verbs here may be better translated by a single verb in other languages. New Jerusalem Bible, for example, has only the verb “murdered.” But it may be possible to translate “attacked and killed him” as in Revised English Bible. See the comments at verse 10.

Reigned in his stead: See the comments at 1 Kgs 11.43 and 2 Kgs 8.24.

In the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah: The number “twenty” does not fit with the statements that Jotham reigned sixteen years (verse 33) and that Hoshea began to reign during the twelfth year of King Ahaz of Judah (2 Kgs 17.1). Therefore these words are taken by some experts to be a later addition to the text and are left untranslated in some versions (New Jerusalem Bible). But the vast majority of modern translations include these words, and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament also recommends their inclusion in the text, giving the Masoretic Text a {B} rating.

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament is probably correct in claiming that the readings in several Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament are attempts to eliminate this chronological difficulty. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament is further correct in suggesting that the number “twenty” is part of a mixed-up text. Even so, these words should not be left out of the translation. In some languages, however, it may be more natural to shift this information to the beginning of the sentence as has been done by Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In the ninth year of Hoshea: As in the dating of the beginning of a king’s reign (compare verse 1), this does not refer to the age of Hoshea, but to the ninth year of his rule over Israel (722 B.C.).

At this point in history, the king of Assyria probably does not refer to Shalmaneser V, but to his brother Sargon II, who followed him. Historical information from non-biblical sources has helped scholars to determine this. It would therefore be a mistake to substitute the name of Shalmaneser at this point. But since the identification of this king as Sargon II is not completely certain and since he is not mentioned elsewhere in this account, the use of this name should be limited to a footnote (so Good News Translation).

Carried the Israelites away: For the idea of deportation, or sending into exile, which is referred to here, see 2 Kgs 15.29. Ancient Assyrian texts indicate that 27,290 people were taken into exile by Sargon II.

Placed them: Others may say “located them.” In some languages a causative verb form may be most natural here, such as “caused them to settle” or “made them establish residence.”

Classifier terms should almost certainly be added to the proper names Halah, Habor and Gozan. The name Halah most likely refers to Halahhu, the name of both a town and a district northeast of Nineveh, although in the Septuagint, Halah and Habor are both considered to be rivers. The precise location of Halah is uncertain. The second geographical term Habor refers to a river that flows into the Euphrates River. The third term Gozan probably refers to a city-state through which the Habor River flowed. It was located in northern Mesopotamia. Gozan has been identified with the modern-day city Tell Halaf on the border of Turkey and Syria.

And in the cities of the Medes: In addition to the city of Halah and the area near the Habor River, other Israelite exiles were forced to settle in some of the cities in Media, a country east of Assyria. Instead of saying in the cities of the Medes, some may prefer “in the towns of Media” (Revised English Bible) or “in some of the towns of Media.”

The meaning of the last part of this verse is clearly translated by Contemporary English Version as follows:

• He forced some of them to live in the town of Halah, others to live near the Habor River in the territory of Gozan, and still others to live in towns where the Median people lived.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

But you shall fear the LORD your God is a positive affirmation of the theme of the passage that is stated negatively at the end of the previous verse. Because of the contrast between the positive and negative statements, some languages will require a contrasting conjunction like but at the beginning of this verse. As noted earlier in the discussion on verses 36-38, the use of the third person reference to God will be considered unnatural in most languages if a direct quotation is being used to indicate that God himself is speaking. Good News Translation has changed the LORD your God to first person, using “me, the LORD your God.”

He will deliver you: Here Good News Translation has “I” instead of he since God continues to speak.

Out of the hand of all your enemies; that is, from the power of all those who opposed the descendants of Jacob.

In those languages where the lengthy direct quotation in verses 35-39 is a problem, these verses might be rendered in the following manner, making only verses 37b-39 direct:

• The LORD had made an agreement with them and had ordered them not to worship other gods and not to bow down to them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. The LORD who brought them out of Egypt with great power and strength commanded that they should worship him. He said that to him only they should bow down and to him only offer sacrifices. They should always obey the laws and commands that the LORD wrote for them: “You shall not worship other gods, and you shall not forget the agreement I made with you. It is I, the LORD your God, who rescues you from your enemies. So you must worship me.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .