If the option of an indirect quotation was chosen in the previous verse, this verse should also be made indirect. This may mean adding something like “The messenger continued by telling David that….”

Then: the Hebrew conjunction is used here to indicate action that followed previous action. La Bible du Semeur says “at that moment…,” giving prominence to the time element. Revised English Bible focuses on the location and translates “There,” and this may be a good model for other languages.

The archers: while some languages may have special terms for archers, others will have to use a longer expression meaning “the men who shoot arrows.” It should be made clear that the archers in question are enemy (Ammonite) archers.

Your servants … the king’s servants … your servant: as in previous verses the word “servant” in each of these cases refers to army officers and should be so translated in order to avoid giving the impression that domestic servants are intended. Also, when the messenger says the king’s servants while speaking directly to the king, he is showing respect. Translators should try to discover how this kind of respect is communicated in their own language and use these forms of respect in their translation rather than imitating the Hebrew indirect reference.

Is dead also: that is, “was among those who were killed” or “also died in the battle.”

Some textual experts feel that the original version of verses 23 and 24 included material that is now absent from the traditional Hebrew text. Translators are encouraged to follow the Masoretic Text here. A detailed discussion may be found in Anchor Bible.

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 .