He broke in pieces the pillars: If the pronoun reference here is unclear, he may be translated as “King Josiah” (Good News Translation).

The pillars refer to oblong objects made of stone which neighbors of the Israelites worshiped (Exo 23.23-24). See the comments at 1 Kgs 14.23. That these pillars were made of stone may be made explicit (so Good News Translation, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).

Cut down the Asherim: Asherim is the plural form of “Asherah” (1 Kgs 15.13). See the detailed comments at 1 Kgs 14.15. In this context the reference is to the carved wooden poles that were used to represent this Canaanite goddess. This goddess is not the same as “Ashtoreth” mentioned in the previous verse, but both Asherah and Ashtoreth are mentioned as partners of Baal in the Old Testament.

The worship of pillars and Asherim is forbidden in Deut 7.5 and 12.3. The rediscovery of the book of the Law made Josiah realize that this kind of worship was wrong and compelled him to destroy these objects of pagan worship. Similar action was also taken by Hezekiah in 2 Kgs 18.4.

Filled their places with the bones of men: Their places refers to the ground where the idols had stood before they were demolished.

Since the expression the bones of men refers not only to the bones of male human beings, this may be legitimately and more naturally rendered as “human bones” (Good News Translation, New Century Version) or “bones of human beings.” Since contact with a dead person was thought to make anything it touched impure (Num 19.11-13), this action was intended to make the places unfit for any religious purposes. Since this information may not be assumed in some cultures, it may be helpful to have a footnote, as in Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, which states “with this action he wished to desecrate and profane the altars.” Contemporary English Version has a similar footnote: “This made the whole area unfit for the worship of any god.” Or, this information may be made explicit in the text itself, as in New Living Translation, which reads “Then he desecrated these places by scattering human bones over them.”

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 .

I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel: The word also stresses the fact that what had already happened to Israel would happen to Judah as well. In Hebrew the word also is closely attached to the name Judah rather than to the verb remove.

If the verb remove sounds too gentle, it is possible to translate “chase away” (La Bible du Semeur) or “banish” (Good News Translation, Knox).

As in the previous verse, Judah refers to “the people of the kingdom of Judah” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente; similarly Bible en français courant). And Israel refers to “the people of the kingdom of Israel” (Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

For out of my sight, see the comments at 1 Kgs 9.7.

I will cast off this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem: The verb cast off may be better translated “reject” (Good News Translation and the majority of modern translations) or “throw away.” This city which I have chosen is specifically named as Jerusalem. But in many languages it will be more natural to give the proper name first and then qualify it later in the verse as this city which I have chosen.

The house referred to here is clearly the Temple and should probably be so translated in most languages as in several modern English versions (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version).

My name shall be there: This recalls the pledge recorded in 1 Kgs 8.29 (see also 1 Kgs 3.2; 8.16). Yahweh promised that he would be present in the Temple at Jerusalem for his people to worship him there. But the behavior of the people made it necessary for him to reconsider that promise.

This promise of the LORD is an embedded quotation. It may have to be made indirect in many languages (so Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version does this by rendering the last part of the verse as “And I will abandon this temple built to honor 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 .

The events of this verse correspond to the prophecy of Ezek 12.13.

They slew the sons of Zedekiah: Since the precise referent of the pronoun They may not be clear, some languages may have to refer more specifically to “the Babylonian soldiers” or “the enemy.” The use of the passive form will also be an option only in those languages where such a verb form is natural; for example, Good News Translation has “his sons were put to death” and New American Bible says “He had Zedekiah’s sons slain.”

The archaic verb slew may be translated “slaughtered” (New Revised Standard Version) or “killed” (New Century Version).

Before his eyes: The Good News Translation rendering of these words makes it sound almost accidental that Zedekiah witnessed the death of his sons. The intention, however, is probably that Zedekiah was forced to watch the killings. So it will be reasonable to translate the first clause as “They made him watch while they killed his sons.”

And put out the eyes of Zedekiah: Clearly the action of putting out the eyes of Zedekiah happened after the killing of his sons in his presence. So the common Hebrew conjunction rendered and is better translated “then” as in Good News Translation. Most modern versions, in fact, translate it in this way. The Hebrew verb translated put out is singular, and the subject is probably Nebuchadnezzar. Whether Nebuchadnezzar himself put out Zedekiah’s eyes (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible Pléiade) or whether he ordered someone else to do it (so Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) is not clear. Tablets from Assyria show the Assyrian king, Sargon, putting out prisoners’ eyes with a lance, so it is possible that King Nebuchadnezzar himself did this.

Bound him in fetters: Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, and em>Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translate “tied him up with a double chain of bronze.” The Hebrew noun for fetters is a dual form, which is the reason for the rendering “a double chain.” Other versions also speak of “bronze fetters” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible), “bronze shackles” (New International Version), or “bronze chains” (New Century Version, Peregrino). The word translated fetters does, in fact, refer to chains made of bronze, but several modern versions apparently consider the detail about bronze insignificant (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Translators should at least indicate that the material used in binding Zedekiah was made of metal rather than rope or some other less durable substance.

Like the verb put out, the verbs bound and took are singular in Hebrew, with Nebuchadnezzar as the implied subject. It is impossible to know whether Nebuchadnezzar himself bound Zedekiah or had someone else do it, but it is clear the Babylonian king himself was responsible for these actions.

Took him to Babylon: From Riblah to Babylon was a journey of more than 900 kilometers (about 585 miles), assuming that the usual route by way of Aleppo in the northeast of present-day Syria was taken.

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 .

To swear by the LORD means “to take an oath in the name of the LORD.”

The God of Israel may be rendered “the God whom the Israelite people worship.”

Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead: See verse 13. The presence of the independent pronoun for he in the Masoretic Text may suggest a slight emphasis is intended. Anchor Bible, therefore, says “… and he shall sit on my throne in my stead.” The words in my stead reinforce the statement made in verses 13 and 17 about sitting on the throne, but the meaning is essentially the same. Good News Translation (also Revised English Bible) has chosen to leave these words implicit, but if translators can find a natural way to make the statement more emphatic in this case, that is preferable.

Even so will I do this day: David states that he will fulfill his oath regarding Solomon by appointing Solomon to be the new king on that very day.

Good News Translation provides a helpful model for transforming the embedded quotation of Revised Standard Version into indirect discourse.

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 .

Now therefore …: In Hebrew this verse begins with the common conjunction followed by an adverb of time often translated “now.” Since there is an implied contrast between David’s reluctance to punish Shimei and the recommendation that Solomon should punish him, the contrasting conjunction “but” may be preferable. Several English versions, therefore, begin this verse with the words “But you…” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Contemporary English Version, however, highlights the adverb of time with “Now you….” Some manuscripts of the Septuagint and the Vulgate read “you [singular]” instead of Now, and it is not clear whether some translations such as Good News Translation follow the Masoretic Text or the Septuagint.

Hold him not guiltless: The Hebrew verb here means “to declare [someone] to be free of guilt” or “to leave [someone] unpunished.” Although the Hebrew states this in the negative, it may be restated in a positive form; for example, “you must punish him” (Contemporary English Version).

You are a wise man: See the comments on wisdom in verse 6.

You shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol: His gray head is not mentioned in Good News Translation, perhaps because it is a repetition of the allusion in verse 6, but this element is important in the case of Shimei as well as in that of Joab. So it should be retained in the receptor language in this verse. As in verse 6, a literal rendering of this expression may be inadvisable. Instead of referring to his gray head, it may be better to say something like “He’s an old man” (Contemporary English Version). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translates the whole clause as “don’t let him die of old age!”

David is instructing Solomon to kill Shimei (or, to have someone else kill him). The Hebrew word rendered with blood clearly places the focus on a violent death. Shimei’s violent death is reported in verse 46. Regarding Sheol, see the comments on verse 6.

The elements in this verse may need to be restructured in certain languages. One possible model for such restructuring is Bible en français courant:

• But now, you who are a wise man, you will not hold him for innocent. You know how to treat him: in spite of his old age, you will see to it that he is put to death.

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 king commanded Benaiah: The Hebrew does not say what Solomon ordered Benaiah to do, but the context makes it quite clear that he was instructed to kill Shimei.

As in verses 25, 29, 34, and 35, Good News Translation omits the words the son of Jehoiada.

Struck … down: See the comments on this verb in verse 25.

The kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon: The translator is not advised to render this expression literally. The meaning may be rendered “Solomon’s royal power was securely established” (Revised English Bible) or “Solomon was in full control of his kingdom” (New Century Version). New Living Translation retains some of the imagery of the Hebrew by saying “the kingdom was now firmly in Solomon’s grip.”

The function of the final sentence of this chapter is not clear. It may be understood as a summary of the preceding events (so Good News Translation), which seems to be the most natural reading of the Masoretic Text. Others, however, connect it closely with the beginning of chapter 3, in which Solomon marries a daughter of the Egyptian king and further strengthens his power. New American Bible (similarly Knox), for example, connects this sentence to the beginning of 3.1 as follows: “With the royal power firmly in his grasp, Solomon allied himself by marriage with Pharaoh, king of Egypt.” This interpretation dates back to the Latin Vulgate, which makes this sentence a part of chapter 3 rather than the last sentence in chapter 2.

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 .

Was in charge of the palace is literally “over the house.” Parallels to this office in other ancient Near Eastern documents suggest that Ahishar was in charge of the royal household and that his duties may have included supervision of other palace officials and control of communication and access to the palace. The translation “prime minister” (Contemporary English Version) seems too political. The translation “In charge of the palace servants” (Good News Translation) seems too restricted. Perhaps a better translation is “in charge of the palace property” (similarly De Vries), that is, he made decisions regarding the palace buildings and property.

As noted above on verse 4, New Jerusalem Bible and De Vries, who follow an important manuscript of the Septuagint, regard the words “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army” as a later addition to the Masoretic Text and place parentheses around all of verse 4. Again following the Septuagint, New Jerusalem Bible inserts the following here in the middle of verse 6: “Eliab son of Joab, commander of the army” (similarly De Vries). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and recommends that it be followed here.

Adoniram is mentioned also in 1 Kgs 5.14. In 2 Sam 20.24 the person “in charge of the forced labor” under King David is called Adoram, and the person holding this office during the reign of Solomon’s son Rehoboam is also called Adoram (1 Kgs 12.18). But the ancient Greek and Syriac translations of these two verses have the name “Adoniram.” Although some interpreters think it is not probable that the same person held this office for some forty years, it is likely that “Adoram” is simply a variant of the name Adoniram. So it is permissible to use the same name here as in 1 Kgs 12.18 and 2 Sam 20.24.

In charge of the forced labor is literally “over the levy” (Jewish Publication Version) or “over the forced labor,” which uses the same Hebrew preposition as in the expression above for “over the house.” The practice of using forced labor existed also in neighboring countries at that time. The people were forced to build buildings and fortified walls around cities and to do other construction projects (see 1 Kgs 9.15). The function of Adoniram may be expressed in some languages as “captain of those who worked against their will” or “chief of those who compelled other people to work.” Some translations use the technical term “corvée” in this context (De Vries, Gray). A “corvée” is unpaid labor that a subject provides to the person who rules over him.

Often such labor forces were taken from other conquered nations. It is not clear whether Solomon’s forced labor gangs includes Israelites, as 1 Kgs 5.13 seems to suggest, or only non-Israelites living within his kingdom, as 1 Kgs 9.15-22 suggests.

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 .