He took … and they brought the king down …: The subject of the verb took and the main character of the story is still Jehoiada the priest. However, Good News Translation combines the verbs took and brought and translates them as “escorted” since Jehoiada here acts in conjunction with the groups listed. Others may prefer to translate brought the king down as “led the king” or “accompanied the king as he went.” Since the Temple was located higher on the hill than the king’s palace, the writer says that they brought the king down. This downward direction is not essential to the meaning here. In fact, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders they brought the king down simply as “they escorted the king.”

Regarding the Carites and the guards, see verse 4.

The Hebrew verb translated marching in Revised Standard Version is the common verb often meaning “to go.” The Hebrew does not mean that the people were marching in military formation as soldiers do, but rather escorting an important person. New Jerusalem Bible says simply “entering.”

The gate of the guards: See verse 6.

He took his seat on the throne of the kings: This was the final act in the coronation process. The first part of this process, which included the placing of the crown on the head of Joash, is described in verse 12. Other translations include “he sat upon the royal throne” (American Bible) and “the king sat on the royal throne” (New Century Version).

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 .

This verse is very similar to verse 2, but there are several points of difference that may be retained in translation if it is natural to do so: (1) the word also, which is implicit in the Hebrew, is added by Revised Standard Version in this verse; (2) the words he did not depart from occur in the middle of this verse, but at the end of verse 2 in apposition to the verb “followed,” which is not found in this verse; (3) the word all qualifies the sins of Jeroboam in this verse but does not occur in verse 2; and (4) the concluding words, but he walked in them, are not found in verse 2.

For the use of the verb walked in this context, see verse 6.

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 .

At this point in the story the pronouns him and he refer to the dead body of Amaziah. And in many languages it will be better to use the word for “corpse,” “remains,” or “body.”

Several horses were involved in the movement of the group that brought the body of the dead king back to Jerusalem, but only one horse would have carried the body. For this reason the singular “horse” is found in Good News Translation and New Jerusalem Bible.

Was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers: The wording here is slightly different from similar passages having to do with the burial of a king (see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.31). The usual phrase “slept with his fathers” is lacking. But the death was already described in the previous verse.

The city of David: See the comments at 1 Kgs 2.10.

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 .

The name Tiglath-pileser refers to the same ruler as the one named “Pul” in verse 19 (see the comments there). So the same name should probably be used in both cases. Otherwise, an explanatory footnote will be required to inform the reader that the same person is intended.

Good News Translation omits the verb came, leaving it implicit. But the sense of this verse may be expressed more clearly as “came into Israel” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), “marched into Israel” (Contemporary English Version), or “invaded the country” (Nueva Versión Internacional).

Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali: These geographical names in the verse may present a problem to some translators. Readers should be made aware that the first five names are towns and the last three names are larger areas, all in the northern part of the northern kingdom. The wording of Revised Standard Version makes it appear that Gilead and Galilee are in the same category as the first five names, but this is not the case. See a map for the location of the five towns and the regions of Gilead, Galilee and Naphtali.

The name Abel-beth-maacah, which means “meadow of the house of Maacah,” is composed of three separate words and may be written that way as in Good News Translation, New International Version and New Century Version, or it may be written with hyphens between the words as in Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible. Otherwise, the length of the name may make it unmanageable in some languages.

With regard to Naphtali, the qualifying word all is used to emphasize that the entire region was brought into submission to Assyria.

He carried the people captive to Assyria: The Hebrew word translated carried … captive is actually a causative form of the verb meaning “remove.” It is elsewhere rendered “exiled” (2 Kgs 17.23). In this context Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible have translated it “deported.” The idea of making the people of Israel move to another place against their will is essential. In some languages it may be necessary to say “he forced the people to go to Assyria” or “he made the people leave their country to go to Assyria.”

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: The common Hebrew conjunction here marks contrast between the expected submissive behavior of a vassal king and the actual rebellion described in this verse. It will probably be important to mark this contrast in the receptor language. Since the payment of tribute was an annual occurrence, Good News Translation is justified in adding “one year” here. Other versions add something more general; for example, Bible en français courant begins with “But later on.” But note that the idea of paying tribute year by year is specifically mentioned later in the verse.

Found treachery in Hoshea: The Hebrew word rendered treachery is elsewhere translated “Treason” (2 Kgs 11.14) or “conspiracy” (1 Kgs 16.20). It indicates deception or trickery in dealing with another person or group of persons. New Jerusalem Bible attempts to get at the meaning in the idiomatic English expression “discovered that Hoshea was playing a double game with him.” Some other possible models are “found out that Hoshea had made plans against him” (New Century Version) and “discovered that Hoshea was being disloyal to him” (Revised English Bible).

For he had sent messengers: What follows is a more detailed explanation of Hoshea’s betrayal. The connecting word for is therefore important. Some languages may require a word like “since” at this point. The explanation has two parts: in addition to sending messengers to Egypt, Hoshea also stopped paying tribute to the Assyrian emperor.

To So, king of Egypt: New Revised Standard Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh are similar. But the problem with this rendering is that there is no evidence of any Egyptian king during this period who had a name similar to So. Some scholars consider the name So to be an abbreviated form of the name Osorkon. Osorkon IV (730–715 B.C.) was the last pharaoh (king) of the twenty-second dynasty, and this name fits the time period when Hoshea ruled in Israel.

But the identification with Osorkon IV is not certain, and scholars have proposed a wide variety of other possible meanings for the text at this point. In the past some interpreters have tried to identify the person in question as a military ruler, named Sewe (An American Translation, La Bible Pléiade) or Sibe, who was not a pharaoh but a commander of the Egyptian army whose name is known from ancient documents. But this has been rejected by more recent scholarship.

Others have taken So as a place name rather than the name of a person. The resulting translation would then be “to the king of Egypt at So” (Revised English Bible), “to So, to the king of Egypt” (Hobbs), or possibly “to Sais, to the king of Egypt” (New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, Osty-Trinquet, Peregrino, American Bible). Pharaoh Tefnakht I, who ruled in the West Delta of Egypt 727–720 B.C., had his capital city at Sais, so his reign also fits with the time when Hoshea ruled. If the Hebrew is to be understood as a personal name, then the reference is most likely to Osorkon IV, but if the Hebrew is a place name, then the reference is probably to the city of Sais. Translators may choose to transliterate the name So and indicate the possible meanings in a footnote. New Living Translation, for example, reads “by asking King So of Egypt” in the text, with a footnote that reads “Or by asking the king of Egypt at Sais.”

Some versions of the ancient Greek translation have different readings, including “to Segor king of Egypt” and “to Adrammelech the Ethiopian who lived in Egypt.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, considers these readings to be assimilations to other names in the Old Testament and therefore gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text.

Offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: This is simply the negative of the idea expressed in the previous verse as “paid him tribute,” although different verbs are used in the two cases. Here it is possible to translate “refused to pay his usual assessment” or “withholding the annual tribute which he had been paying” (Revised English Bible).

Therefore: While the Hebrew has only the common conjunction here, there is a logical connection between Hoshea’s failure to pay tribute and the action of the king of Assyria. So a transition word similar to the one in Revised Standard Version may be required in other languages.

The expressions shut him up and bound him in prison really speak of the same event, although the first expression may be understood to refer to the initial act while the second one would have to do with the long-term consequence. The resulting translation might therefore be something like “arrested and imprisoned Hoshea” (New American Bible) or “seized and imprisoned him” (Revised English Bible).

Bible en français courant provides a possible model for restructuring the verse as a whole:

• But later on, Hoshea plotted against him: he sent messengers to the king of Egypt at Sais, and refused to pay his tribute to the king of Assyria; when Shalmaneser discovered this, he had Hoshea arrested and put in prison.

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 .

You shall not forget …: As in the previous verse, this may be translated with an imperative, for example, “Do not forget…” (New Century Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). The pronoun you is plural throughout this verse and the next one. New American Bible has “you [plural] must not forget….”

The covenant that I have made with you: See verses 15 and 35. Here the Hebrew changes to first person for the LORD from the third person in the previous two verses. But Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version already shift to first person beginning at verse 36 for the sake of greater naturalness in English.

You shall not fear other gods: Once again, this repeats the main theme of the passage. As in the previous verses, the verb fear may be better translated “worship” (New Revised Standard Version) here and in the following verse.

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 .

This verse contains yet another embedded quotation that should probably be made into indirect discourse in a number of languages. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version provide good models.

Make your peace with me and come out to me: Make your peace with me is literally “Make with me a benediction/blessing.” The word translated peace in this case is not shalom (see 1 Kgs 2.13). But the clear meaning of the expression as a whole is “give up” or “surrender” (Good News Translation) and may possibly mean “enter into a treaty with me.” As a sign of their surrender, the people on the inside of the city would be expected to come out to the enemy commander to confirm the treaty. After doing this, they could return to their own homes.

Every one of you will eat of his own vine … of his own fig tree … drink the water of his own cistern: The three statements here stand in contrast with “eat their own dung” and “drink their own urine” in verse 27. The expressions used here describe the normal state of affairs while the threat in verse 27 portrays a very abnormal situation.

For vine and fig tree, see the comments on 1 Kgs 4.25.

The Hebrew word translated cistern is elsewhere rendered “well” (1 Sam 19.22) or “pit” (2 Kgs 10.14). But in this context it may be translated in some languages as “drinking-water place” or something similar.

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 .

Raged: See the comments on raging in the previous verse.

Your arrogance has come into my ears: A more natural wording of this line may be “I have heard your arrogance.” The Hebrew word translated arrogance may be better rendered “pride” (Knox) or “insolence” (New International Version). In the Masoretic Text your arrogance is literally “your self-confidence” or “your tranquility” (shaʾananka in Hebrew). Many scholars, however, suggest that the Hebrew word should be slightly changed to read “your roaring” (shaʾavanka in Hebrew), which would make it parallel to the first part of this verse. This Handbook recommends that the reading in the Masoretic Text be followed with the word arrogance (also New Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible).

I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth: While translators may possibly be familiar with the image of putting a bit in the mouth of a horse to tame it, the first of these two images may be more puzzling. Apparently it is an allusion to the way the Assyrians treated their enemies after they had been defeated, as is known from Assyrian texts and monuments. A metal hook was placed through the nose, or sometimes the lip, of the enemy and a rope tied through the hook would permit the captors to lead the captives wherever they wanted. The Assyrian king would now be treated in the same way as he and his army had treated their enemies. He would then be completely submissive to the will of Yahweh. Some may prefer to translate “I will treat you as my prisoner.” But if a more literal rendering is retained, it will probably be a good idea to add a footnote explaining the meaning.

I will turn you back on the way by which you came: Turn you back is literally “cause you to turn back.” The Hebrew verb used here is the same one that is translated “repent” in other contexts (for example, 1 Kgs 8.47-48). Instead of conquering the city of Jerusalem as expected, Sennacherib would have to go back home by the same road that he had taken to come to Jerusalem.

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 .