And this was so is literally “And it was.” If this English expression is translated literally, there may be some difficulty in figuring out what the pronoun this refers to. Commentators agree that the implicit subject of the Hebrew verb here is the capture of the city of Samaria by the invading forces from Assyria. So instead of this vague reference, many translators will prefer something like “The city of Samaria was captured” or “Enemies took control of the city of Samaria.” Some Septuagint manuscripts say “The anger of God [was] against Israel.”

People of Israel is literally “sons of Israel,” but the meaning is correctly translated by Revised Standard Version (see the comments on 1 Kgs 6.1).

Who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt …: This statement brings to mind many references in the book of Exodus, especially the introduction to the Ten Commandments (Exo 20.2). Compare also 1 Kgs 6.1; 8.9, 21; 9.9.

From under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; that is, from the power of the Egyptian ruler. In many languages it will be misleading or unnatural to translate the word hand literally since it refers here to power. For Pharaoh see the comments on 1 Kgs 3.1.

Had feared other gods: The implied subject of this clause is still the people of Israel. In some cases it will be more natural to begin a new sentence using the pronoun “They” (Good News Translation) or repeating the noun phrase “The people of Israel.” The verb feared may be better translated “gave their respect to” or “honored” (see the comments at 1 Kgs 8.40). For other gods, see the comments on 1 Kgs 9.6.

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 .