As in verse 9, this verse begins with the Hebrew verbal transition marker that may be translated “And it happened.” But here it serves only to move the story along and is omitted by most modern versions.
They still went on and talked; that is, they continued walking and talking with each other. New American Bible translates “they walked on conversing.” Gray also captures the sense of the Hebrew with “they were going on their way, talking as they were going.”
Behold: As often in the Old Testament, this particle is intended to startle the reader and introduce a sudden and unexpected event. Languages that have a similar particle fulfilling this function should probably use it in this context. Others may have to resort to an adverb like “suddenly” (Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, Moffatt) or “all at once” (Knox). See the comments on 1 Kgs 1.14.
A chariot of fire and horses of fire: Fire is common in manifestations of God’s presence in the Old Testament (Exo 3.2; 13.21; 19.18; Deut 4.24; 1 Kgs 18.38; 2 Kgs 1.10). In some languages the precise relationship between the chariot and the fire (as well as the horses and the fire) will need to be spelled out. The intended meaning is probably that the chariot and the horses were actually burning but not consumed as was also the case with Moses’ burning bush (Exo 3.2). In addition to this, a literal translation, where the two noun phrases are connected only by the conjunction “and,” will not necessarily make the reader think that the chariot and horses were connected. But the intended meaning is almost certainly “a fiery chariot with fiery horses” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or better, “a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses” (Contemporary English Version). New Living Translation similarly says “a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.” Compare also 2 Kgs 6.17.
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven: The context clearly indicates that Elijah did not go up by his own efforts. For this reason some scholars change the vowels in the Hebrew verb rendered went up so that it reads “was taken up” in agreement with the Septuagint. Good News Translation reads “was taken up,” but it is not clear whether this translation is based on a correction of the Hebrew verb or is in agreement with the context. In some languages the most natural way to convey the meaning will be to say “the whirlwind/storm took Elijah up….”
For whirlwind and heaven, see verse 1.
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 .