So has been added by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation according to the sense. Hebrew does not have any word that corresponds to the word So. This transition word introduces a summary statement of what has already been said. Some versions do not include a transition word (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). If the receptor language has a particle that is used to introduce a summary statement, it should probably be used here.

They feared the LORD but also served their own gods: The transition word but is crucial here. The two clauses are logically contradictory but were, in fact, both true. Some versions attempt to convey the same meaning by restructuring as follows: “they worshiped the LORD, while serving their own gods….” In fact, the Hebrew verbal constructions here suggest ongoing and simultaneous action. Revised English Bible expresses this clearly in English with “They paid homage to the LORD, while at the same time they served their own gods.” These clauses are a repetition of what has already been said in verses 29-32, but the order of the elements is reversed and the repetition is intentional for the sake of added emphasis. In some languages where it is difficult to pluralize the word for God, the words their own gods may have to be rendered “their idols that they worshiped as God.”

After the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away; that is, just like the people among whom they had lived before they were relocated in Samaria.

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 .