Came out: this implies that the Ammonite soldiers left the confines of the city. In many languages it will be necessary to say “came out of the city” or “left behind the city walls.”

Drew up in battle array: that is, “arranged themselves in their battle positions,” “set themselves in battle formation,” or “prepared to fight the battle.”

At the entrance of the gate: literally “at the opening of the gate.” The name of the city of Rabbah is not specifically mentioned in the text of 2 Samuel until the beginning of the next chapter. But there is little doubt that this passage is talking about the defense of the Ammonites’ capital city. Rabbah is, in fact, the only city mentioned in the Bible as being Ammonite (12.26; and see the comment on 1 Sam 11.1). Today it is called Amman and is the capital of Jordan. Good News Translation provides more explicit information than is found in the Hebrew, but the original readers understood this. Another possible solution is to say “the entrance to their city gate” as in New International Version.

By themselves: that is, as a group they were separate from the Ammonite soldiers. New Century Version makes this into a separate sentence, “They were standing away from the Ammonites.”

In the open country: this expression usually stands in opposition to the cities and highways (Judges 20.31). It was away from the places where large groups of people are usually found (1 Sam 30.11). It also implies that there were probably no forests in the immediate vicinity. Contemporary English Version translates “in the nearby fields.”

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 .

The battle was set against him both in front and in the rear: or “realized that he had to do battle in the front and behind at the same time,” or “became aware that the enemy was behind his troops as well as in front of them.”

Picked men: this expression is found in Judges 20 (verses 15, 16, and 34) and frequently in 1-2 Chronicles. It also occurs in Psa 78.31, where it is in parallel with “the strongest of them.” It refers to the very best of the fighting force of the people of Israel and is the equivalent of “special forces” in certain modern armies. Translators may wish to say “especially chosen fighters” or “the best warriors.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible speaks of “the elite of Israel.”

Arrayed them: that is, “arranged them,” “deployed them” (New International Version), or “drew up a battle formation.” The verb used is the same as the one describing the Ammonites in the previous verse. That is, as commander of the military force Joab attempted to organize his men in such a way as to enable them to defeat their enemy.

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 .

While it is not specifically stated, the text implies that Joab went with the first group. This is why it was necessary for him to choose someone else to be in command of the troops that would stay to fight the Ammonites. Instead of making the rest of his men the subject of the sentence, it will be more natural in many languages to turn the sentence around and say something like “he made his brother, Abishai, commander of the remaining forces” or “he appointed Abishai, his brother, to take control of the troops that he left behind.” Abishai was last mentioned in 3.30. In some languages it is necessary to specify whether Abishai was the younger brother or the older brother. Unfortunately the Hebrew text never indicates whether Joab or Abishai was older, but perhaps it may be assumed that Joab was the older, since he was the commander of David’s troops. It is also true that Joab is usually mentioned first where the two names occur together in lists.

He arrayed them: the pronoun here refers to Abishai and not to Joab. Once again the verb involves the arrangement of the military force in preparation for battle. Compare the similar expression in the two previous verses.

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 .

He said: this pronoun refers to Joab, who was the subject of the verbs in verses 9-10. In some languages it will be necessary to state clearly to whom he was speaking, as in New International Version, Contemporary English Version, and New American Bible, as well as Good News Translation.

Too strong for me … for you: that is, if the enemy forces started to take the upper hand in the battle on either front, the stronger of the two Israelite forces would send some of its men to help the weaker force. In some languages it will be more natural to say “If the Syrians begin to win the fight” or, turning the sentence around, “If we start losing ground to the Syrians.” Similar language will apply to the last part, saying what to do if the Ammonites succeed.

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 .

Be of good courage: similar to the exhortation in 1 Sam 4.9, these are words of mutual encouragement for the two leaders. The root meaning of the verb used here has to do with being strong. Although formally a simple imperative, this is not just a matter of Joab’s telling Abishai to be strong, but a wish for both of them. For this reason it is probably better to translate “let us be strong” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) rather than simply “you be strong.” The form of the following exhortation does focus more on the fact that the two men were joined in a common endeavor.

Let us play the man for our people: the wording play the man actually comes from a significant moment in English church history, but it is definitely not a literal rendering of the Hebrew here and should not be imitated in other languages. The verb is actually another form of the one translated Be of good courage just discussed in this same verse. This form probably means simply “be courageous” or “be brave.” However, some commentators argue that it should be translated “we’ll exert ourselves” (Anchor Bible) or “we are bound to prevail” (Anderson). Translators are strongly advised against imitating Revised Standard Version. New Revised Standard Version has retranslated this as “let us be courageous,” and New International Version has “let us fight bravely.”

The cities of our God: while the Hebrew is clear at this point, scholars have suggested several modifications to the text. Among the suggestions are “the ark of our God” (Moffatt), based on the fact that the ark was present in the Israelite camp according to 11.11; “the altars of our God” (New English Bible footnote); and “the servants of our God.” But there is no compelling reason to change the text of this verse. The reference is probably to cities located to the south on the east side of the Jordan River, where the God of the Israelites was worshiped. It is possible but less likely that the reference is to Israelite cities in general.

May the LORD do what seems good to him: this same expression is used in the story of Eli and Samuel (1 Sam 3.18). As in that case, it shows a willingness to accept whatever turns out to be the will of God. In some languages it will have to be put in the form of a prayer: “I ask that the LORD will do whatever he wants to do” or “I pray that what the LORD wants will actually happen.”

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 .

So: the transition word here should indicate that the next step in the story is being introduced. As in several other places, this transition is represented in Good News Translation by beginning a new paragraph. This is also the case in Revised English Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh. New International Version has a new paragraph as well as the word “Then.”

The people who were with him: the word for people is often used of armies, and in the context of combat this phrase should be translated something like “the soldiers who were with him” (New American Bible), “the troops with him” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and New International Version), or simply “his soldiers.”

Drew near to battle: that is, moved forward in preparation for the planned attack. Some will want to translate “approached to begin the fight” or “confronted [the Syrians].”

They fled: in most cases it will probably be a good idea to make clear which group ran away, since the plural pronoun may be misunderstood. Good News Translation does this by stating clearly “the Syrians fled.” One ancient Greek manuscript actually has the name rather than the pronoun here, but such a rendering is justified on grounds of translation principles rather than for textual reasons.

Before him: that is, before Joab and his army. It was certainly not Joab alone who caused them to run away. So it may be wise in some languages to make it clear that Joab and all his party were involved. In some languages it may be best to say simply “ran away,” leaving implicit the fact that it was Joab’s army that caused them to do so. And in other cases the plural pronoun will be more appropriate, “ran away from them.”

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 .

Fled: in those languages requiring an object for the verb “flee,” it will be best to talk of fleeing from Joab’s forces (or troops, or soldiers).

Likewise fled … and entered the city: seeing that their allies, the Syrians, were forsaking the battle, the Ammonites also decided to abandon the struggle. So they went back inside the city walls for protection (see verse 8 above). Since Joab did not attempt to take the city, this was the end of the battle. The verb entered really means “reentered” and will be translated “withdrew” or “went back” in many languages.

Came to Jerusalem: since this was certainly not the first time that Joab and his men had come to Jerusalem, it will be more natural to translate “came back” or “returned” in many languages.

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 .

But: the common Hebrew conjunction here may be translated But, since it marks a turning point in the story, and what follows may be seen as somewhat contrary to the expectations of the reader or hearer. Others may prefer to follow the example of New International Version, making the first part of this verse into a temporal clause, “After the Arameans [Syrians] saw [or, realized]…,” without any overt transition marker. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates similarly. Still other versions make this a completely independent sentence (New Century Version and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, for example).

Had been defeated by Israel: this passive expression may be made active by saying something like “Israel had defeated them.”

Gathered themselves together: the idea here is that of bringing all the Syrian military forces together in one place. This may be conveyed by using a verb like “assembled” or “united,” but in some languages it will have to be made clearer how this assembly came about, since it was not by accident. It is most likely that the leaders issued a call to the entire military force, who in turn gathered together. In addition to Good News Translation above, some possible models are “the leaders reassembled all their forces,” “they regrouped their forces” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “so they came together again in one big army” (New Century Version).

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 .