Muster an army: Muster is literally “you muster for yourself.” The Hebrew verb for muster is not the same term that is used in verses 15 and 26-27. This verb comes from a root meaning “to count.” The sense is “count out for yourself an army.” The Hebrew text has a second person singular pronoun before the verb. The presence of the pronoun is emphatic, and the sense may be that Benhadad himself should now muster an army and not rely on the thirty-two kings to organize an army for him. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “muster for yourself an army.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible expresses the sense of the Hebrew with “you yourself, recruit an army.”

Like the army that you have lost is defined in greater detail by the words horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. This is taken to mean that the number of horses and chariots in the new army should be identical with those in the previous one so that it would be just as strong as it had been before.

The Hebrew participle translated lost is literally “fallen” and is used in the plural in Jer 39.9 to refer to “deserters.” In this context the participle is correctly translated “deserted” (so Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Anchor Bible).

For chariot see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.5-6.

Surely we shall be stronger than they: See verse 23. New Living Translation says “There’s not a shadow of a doubt that we will beat them.”

In some languages the words he hearkened to their voice, and did so may be translated “he agreed with them and did what they said.” Some translations replace the pronoun he with the name “Ben-Hadad” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie) or “King Benhadad” (Good News Translation). Translators will need to decide which form is better in their own language.

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 .