Turn aside, and stand here: taken together the two verbs give the impression that Ahimaaz is being politely asked to get out of the way so that King David can receive the Cushite and hear the news that he was bringing. In Ruth 4.1 the same kind of expression is used, but the following verb is “sit” rather than “stand” as in this case.

The direct quotation is made indirect in Revised English Bible: “The king told him to stand on one side.” This may provide a good model for certain other languages where a direct quotation is less natural here.

After the instructions of the king, the Hebrew text repeats both verbs to indicate that Ahimaaz did exactly as he was commanded to do by David. But in some languages it may be more natural to say simply “So he did just as the king had commanded him,” or something similar.

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 .