My lord, O king: this respectful form of address to the king will probably not be rendered literally in most cases. Compare 1 Sam 26.17.

It will be very important to clarify the meaning of my servant and your servant in this verse. When Mephibosheth says your servant he is referring to himself, and this should probably be translated by the first person singular pronoun in most languages, although appropriate adjustments should be made elsewhere in the quotation to show that he was properly polite in speaking to the king. And the words my servant refer to Ziba, who is not mentioned by name in this passage until verse 29. It will, however, be very important to introduce the name earlier in many languages, since readers are not likely to remember the story in chapter 16. The only English translation that provides a good model in this case is New Century Version, which says clearly “my servant Ziba,” and later “I said to Ziba” instead of your servant said to him.

Saddle an ass for me: the traditional Hebrew text says “let me saddle for myself…,” and this is quite possibly the original reading (so Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The fact that Mephibosheth was crippled in both legs may have led copyists to change the original text so that he gives instructions to his servant to do the work for him. This is the way the Septuagint reads. Although Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends “Let me saddle for myself…” and gives this text a {B} reading, many modern versions adopt the reading of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.

The position of the final explanatory statement indicating that Mephibosheth was lame may be totally wrong in certain languages. Since it is the key to understanding the whole affair, it may be wise to place it at the very beginning of Mephibosheth’s explanation.

As is frequently the case, one direct quotation within another may present special problems for translators. It will probably be a good idea to make the internal quotation, indicating what Mephibosheth said to Ziba, into an indirect quotation, as Good News Translation, Moffatt, and Contemporary English Version have done.

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 .