It was told Solomon: This passive form may be rendered actively, as in “Someone came and announced it to Solomon” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie), “Someone told Solomon” (Contemporary English Version), or “They told Solomon” (Anchor Bible).

The Hebrew focusing particle occurs twice in this verse and is translated Behold in the first case and lo in the second one. The double use of this particle highlights the fact that Adonijah was afraid of Solomon and that he had taken refuge at the altar. In languages that have particles fulfilling the same function, one or more may be used in this verse.

Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword: At the end of this verse, Adonijah refers to himself in both the first person (me) and the third person (his servant). If this change of reference will cause confusion in the receptor language, it may be better to follow the model of Good News Translation.

First is literally “today” (New International Version, God’s Word); the same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 22.5. But Adonijah is probably asking that Solomon first make a promise not to kill him (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) rather than asking that Solomon make the promise that very day. Revised English Bible says “Let King Solomon swear to me here and now….”

Slay … with the sword is a vivid expression of the manner of execution that Adonijah tried to avoid. Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New Living Translation leave implicit the idea of the sword and simply use the verb “kill.” The expression may sometimes refer to a violent death that was not necessarily caused by a literal sword, as noted in the comments on 1 Kgs 2.8.

The embedded quotation in this verse may present a serious translation problem in certain languages. Good News Translation provides a possible model for avoiding this problem. But in other cases the entire verse may be made into indirect discourse. The last part of the verse would then read as follows:

• The person also told him that Adonijah had demanded that King Solomon should first swear to him that he would not be killed.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .