The Septuagint says at the beginning of this verse “And the woman went to all the people and spoke to all the city in her wisdom.” This version is the basis for translations that have two verbs here, “went” and “spoke.” New Jerusalem Bible, for example, says “The woman went and spoke to all the people….” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and states that the Hebrew words here are an idiom meaning “she confronted all the people, armed with her wisdom.”

Then: the woman’s action apparently followed more or less immediately after her promise to Joab. The conjunction serves to make this connection.

At the beginning of this verse, it may be more natural in some languages to use the pronoun “she” in place of the noun the woman. But this may not be the case in those languages that do not make a distinction between the masculine and feminine pronouns.

All the people: this refers to the people of the city, and this may need to be clarified in some languages.

Her wisdom: that is, her strategy for saving their city from attack by Joab and his forces. This scheme was, of course, the execution of Sheba. New Revised Standard Version says “with her wise plan,” and New American Bible says “with her advice.”

So: the common Hebrew conjunction serves here as a logical connector, showing that Joab’s dismissal of his troops came as a direct result of the preceding action of the inhabitants of the city.

Blew the trumpet: see verse 1, where the blowing of the trumpet by Sheba started the whole affair.

Every man to his home: in Hebrew this is exactly the same expression as that translated “every man to his tents” in verse 1. Together with the statement about the blowing of the trumpet, this serves as a signal that the story begun in verse 1 has now reached its conclusion.

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 .