This verse repeats the words of verse 16, where the focus was on the reign of Asa.

The Septuagint omits this verse. Some interpreters think that this verse is a later addition to the text under the influence of verse 16. New Jerusalem Bible andParola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, which omit verse 32, are based on this understanding. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text, saying it corresponds to the author’s style to note repeatedly the war between the kings of Israel and Judah (1 Kgs 14.30; 15.6, 7, 16, 32).

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

Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead: Regarding the meaning of the name Elijah, see the introductory comments on 1 Kgs 17.1–19.21. His name in Hebrew here is actually written Elijahu. According to the most common interpretation, Elijah was from the town of Tishbe in the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan River. But it is not certain that Tishbe is a place name. The vowels that occur in the Masoretic Text spelling of Tishbe suggest that the Hebrew word should be translated “one of the settlers” or “one of the residents” (Anchor Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond). Compare Gray: “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the settlers of Gilead.” According to this translation, Elijah was not a native of Gilead but he was an immigrant who lived there permanently. It has also been suggested by some scholars that the vowels in the word Tishbite should be corrected to read “settler.” This is the basis for the alternate rendering in a Contemporary English Version footnote, which reads “from the settlers in Gilead.” It is also the explanation for the translations using words like “inhabitant[s]” (King James Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “sojourners” (American Standard Version).

But other occurrences of the Hebrew word for “settlers” in the Old Testament have a slightly different spelling from that found here, so the translation “settlers” should be rejected. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the vowels in the Hebrew noun be changed to read the place name Tishbe (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation), and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the corrected text. Since there was a city named Tishbe in Galilee, the author adds the words in Gilead in order to distinguish this city of Tishbe from the city of the same name in Galilee. Apart from this verse, nothing further is known about the city of Tishbe in Gilead. If the reading Tishbite is accepted, then the text is redundant and translators may feel free to translate the words Tishbite and of Tishbe one time rather than twice in cases where the double mention of the place name would be unnatural.

Since a new chapter begins here, it may be wise to identify Ahab as a king, as Good News Translation has done.

As the LORD … lives: See the comments on 1 Kgs 1.29.

Before whom I stand: See the comments on the phrase “to stand before someone” in 1 Kgs 10.8. In this context it may be rendered “whom I serve” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “in whose service I am” (Bible en français courant).

These years refers to a relatively short period of time. Some translations say “these coming years” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). According to 1 Kgs 18.1, the rain began again in the third year of the drought. Good News Translation has brought this information forward into the present verse by saying “the next two or three years.”

Except by my word is literally “except at the mouth of my word.” This may be rendered in a variety of ways in different languages. Some will prefer to say “unless I command it” (New Century Version) or “except as I give orders” (Moffatt). Others may prefer “until the time when I give permission.”

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

As the LORD your God lives: See the comments on 1 Kgs 1.29. These words function here to affirm the truth of what Obadiah is saying.

There is no nation or kingdom whither my lord has not sent to seek you: The words nation and kingdom are near synonyms here. The first noun is often used to refer to pagan peoples in distinction from the Israelite people. Here it refers to the whole population of a single territory. The second noun, kingdom, places more focus on an area understood as a united political territory. Some languages may find it necessary to translate these two nouns with one term (so Good News Translation with the word “country”). Obadiah’s words are, of course, to be understood as a hyperbole, that is, as an overstatement, in order to declare that Ahab has searched far and wide to find Elijah.

In verse 7 (and 13) Obadiah called Elijah “my lord,” but here in verse 10 the words my lord refer to King Ahab. Good News Translation says simply “the king” instead of my lord, but such a translation hides the fact that Obadiah still shows a loyalty to Ahab. A better translation is “my master the king” or “the king whom I serve.”

When they would say, ‘He is not here’: The embedded quotation contained in this part of the verse may be easily made into indirect speech in those languages where different levels of quotation are problematic (so Good News Translation). Translators may prefer to say something like “when they denied that you were there” or “whenever they said that you were not in their land.”

The subject of the verb would say is not stated in Hebrew, but Good News Translation expresses the intended meaning with “the ruler of a country.”

He would take an oath of the kingdom …: This means King Ahab would make any ruler swear before God that he was telling the truth if that ruler denied knowing where Elijah was.

New Century Version presents the meaning of the last half of the verse in short sentences as follows: “If the ruler said you were not there, that was not enough. Ahab then forced the ruler to swear you could not be found in his country.”

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

Go up now: Elijah had already gone to the top of Mount Carmel (verse 42) and now he tells his servant to go to the part of the mountaintop from which he can view the sea. Perhaps this is an instance where the verb Go up is used without any real sense of a change in elevation (see verse 41). The word now may translate the Hebrew particle of entreaty here (see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.12). God’s Word renders it “Please” and Nouvelle Bible Segond has “I beg you.”

Look toward the sea means that the servant was to look westward toward the Mediterranean Sea from where the west winds were blowing the rain clouds.

Go again seven times: These words may be taken entirely as a direct quotation, as in Revised Standard Version, or they may include the command “Go again,” which is followed by a shorthand indication that this action was repeated seven times (so De Vries). New International Version follows the second interpretation by translating the last sentence as “Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ ” This interpretation seems much more likely to be the intended meaning of the text. In fact, a number of modern versions avoid a direct quotation altogether at this point. Revised English Bible renders the whole obscure expression indirectly as follows: “Seven times Elijah ordered him back.” Good News Translation has “Seven times in all Elijah told him to go and look,” which seems to suggest that the servant went a total of seven times, but the sense seems to be that he went eight times. The number seven here symbolizes completeness.

At the end of this verse the Septuagint has the words “and the servant went again seven times.” It is possible that these words were accidentally omitted from the Hebrew, and a number of modern versions follow the Septuagint here (so Revised English Bible, Peregrino, La Bible Pléiade). Even if translators follow the shorter text of the Masoretic Text here, they may wish to add the words “and the servant went again seven times” for reasons of translation.

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

Ahab has agreed to let the Syrian king take his own wives and children, but he refuses to allow the Syrians to come into the city and take whatever they want.

He said; that is, Ahab said. In this context the verb said may be better translated “gave this answer” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “gave the following response” (Bible en français courant).

Tell my lord the king: Nearly all translations take the words my lord the king as words spoken to the messengers of Benhadad about Benhadad. But these words may also be taken as part of Ahab’s message that the envoys are to give to Benhadad. Anchor Bible follows this second interpretation and says “Say: ‘To my lord, the king….’ ” This second interpretation is supported by ancient letters from the ancient Near East in which kings are addressed in this way.

This thing (or, “this matter”) will have to be made clearer in many languages. It is taken by New Century Version to refer to Benhadad’s “second command” (similarly Good News Translation). That is, Ahab could not agree to the threat in verse 6, which included the soldiers of Benhadad taking anything they wanted.

The messengers departed and brought him word again: Him refers to Benhadad. The Hebrew text does not have a word that corresponds to the word again at the end of this verse in Revised Standard Version. But since the time between verses 4 and 5 imply that messengers had earlier taken a message to Benhadad, it is legitimate to say again here.

Good News Translation has restructured this verse in the following two ways: (1) the embedded quotation has been turned into an indirect quotation, and (2) Ahab’s reference to himself in the second person as your servant has been changed to the first person singular.

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

According to the rules of holy war, Benhadad belonged to God. Ahab did not have the right to let Benhadad go free.

He said to him is translated “The prophet said to the king” in Good News Translation and New Century Version (similarly Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). In order to make the pronoun references clear, it is also possible to translate “He said to the king” (New International Version) or simply “The prophet said” (Contemporary English Version). Or, to avoid the two levels of quotation that follow, some may prefer to translate “The prophet gave the king the following message from the LORD.”

Out of your hand is literally “from hand.” Revised Standard Version adds the pronoun your according to the sense of the passage.

The man whom I had devoted to destruction is literally “the man of my destruction/ban.” The reference is to Benhadad (verse 34), as Parole de Vie makes explicit by saying “I had told you to kill Ben-Hadad.” See the discussion on 1 Kgs 9.20-21 regarding the ban in Hebrew warfare. The rendering “the man … whom I had ordered to be killed” (Good News Translation) does not preserve the religious aspect of the ban. Attempts to do so in other translations include “that man … I had put him under a ban” (Revised English Bible) and “the man whom I had consecrated to extermination” (Peregrino). Unfortunately, probably neither of these translations will have much meaning to most readers. New Jerusalem Bible provides a better model with “the man … who was under my curse of destruction.”

Translators may find a footnote such as the following to be useful here: “The Israelites believed that God went with them into battle as the head of their army. The part of the spoil that belonged to God, whether people or things, was to be completely destroyed.”

Life translates the Hebrew term nephesh, which is traditionally rendered “soul” (see the comments on verse 32).

Your people for his people: The Hebrew word rendered people is understood by Good News Translation as referring to the armies of Israel and Syria. This Hebrew noun for people often refers specifically to an army, but the first reference here seems to be the people of Israel (see 1 Kgs 22.35; 2 Kgs 10.32-33; 13.3).

A possible restructuring of this verse might read as follows:

• The prophet gave the king the following message from the LORD: “You will pay with your life for what you have done. I will destroy your people because you let his army escape. I will do all this because you let the man go free when I had ordered you to kill him.”

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

The battle grew hot is literally “the battle went up.” Gray says “the conflict … mounted,” in the sense that the intensity of fighting increased. In other languages translators may say something like “the combat became very violent” (Parole de Vie) or “the fight grew fiercer” (Moffatt).

The king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians: The text does not indicate why Ahab was held up in his chariot. Perhaps this was an attempt to keep the Israelite soldiers from knowing that their king had been seriously wounded. But any suggested reason is only speculation and must not be inserted into the translation of this verse. In languages where this passive construction may need to be made active, translators may say “the king found a way to support himself in an upright position in his chariot while he faced the Syrians.”

Syrians is literally “Aram” (see the comments on the collective use of this singular noun in 1 Kgs 20.20).

Until at evening he died: This expression is awkward in English. New Century Version renders it as a separate sentence at the end of the verse, saying “That evening he died.” The word for evening must refer to a time of day in the late afternoon but just prior to the setting of the sun since “sunset” is mentioned at the beginning of the next verse.

The blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot: Bottom translates the Hebrew noun that often is used of a person’s lap or bosom or of the fold of a garment above the belt where possessions were kept. Its use here in verse 35 is unusual, but the context makes it clear that the meaning is the interior or bottom of the chariot.

The Hebrew text speaks of Ahab’s death before mentioning that his wound bled. Good News Translation sees it as more logical to reverse the order of these two elements, mentioning first the bleeding and then the king’s death. If the order of the Hebrew presents logical problems in the receptor language, the Good News Translation model may be followed.

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