OET interlinear 2 KI 3:14

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-oathformula

חַי־יְהוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָמַ֣דְתִּי לְ⁠פָנָ֔י⁠ו כִּ֗י לוּלֵ֛י פְּנֵ֛י יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֖ה אֲנִ֣י נֹשֵׂ֑א אִם־אַבִּ֥יט אֵלֶ֖י⁠ךָ וְ⁠אִם־אֶרְאֶֽ⁠ךָּ

he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said ʼElīshāˊ he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers which/who stand before,,him that/for/because/then/when not face/surface_of Yəhōshāfāţ/(Jehoshaphat) king Yehuda I lifting/taking if look to,you and=if I,will_see_you )

Following the custom of his culture, Elisha is swearing an oath by guaranteeing it by something that he holds sacred and by stating the first part of a condition (“if”) but not the second part (“then”). Use a natural way in your language to express an oath. In a context such as this, it may be natural to express just the first part of the condition as a negative statement. Alternate translation: [I swear by Yahweh of hosts, to whose face I stand, that unless I were lifting the face of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look at you and I would not regard you]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָמַ֣דְתִּי לְ⁠פָנָ֔י⁠ו

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said ʼElīshāˊ he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers which/who stand before,,him that/for/because/then/when not face/surface_of Yəhōshāfāţ/(Jehoshaphat) king Yehuda I lifting/taking if look to,you and=if I,will_see_you )

Here, to whose face I stand represents being in the presence of Yahweh and serving him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: [in whose presence I stand] or [whose servant I am]

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

לוּלֵ֛י פְּנֵ֛י יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֖ה אֲנִ֣י נֹשֵׂ֑א אִם־אַבִּ֥יט אֵלֶ֖י⁠ךָ וְ⁠אִם־אֶרְאֶֽ⁠ךָּ

not (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said ʼElīshāˊ he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers which/who stand before,,him that/for/because/then/when not face/surface_of Yəhōshāfāţ/(Jehoshaphat) king Yehuda I lifting/taking if look to,you and=if I,will_see_you )

If it would appear in your language that Elisha was making a statement and then contradicting it, you could reword this as a positive statement. Alternate translation: [I am only looking at you and regarding you because I am lifting the face of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

לוּלֵ֛י פְּנֵ֛י יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט & אֲנִ֣י נֹשֵׂ֑א

not (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said ʼElīshāˊ he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers which/who stand before,,him that/for/because/then/when not face/surface_of Yəhōshāfāţ/(Jehoshaphat) king Yehuda I lifting/taking if look to,you and=if I,will_see_you )

Elisha is using lifting the face of as a common expression of his culture to mean “showing respect to” or “showing favor toward.” If this phrase does not have that meaning for your readers, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [if I did not respect Jehoshaphat]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אִם־אַבִּ֥יט אֵלֶ֖י⁠ךָ וְ⁠אִם־אֶרְאֶֽ⁠ךָּ

if (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said ʼElīshāˊ he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers which/who stand before,,him that/for/because/then/when not face/surface_of Yəhōshāfāţ/(Jehoshaphat) king Yehuda I lifting/taking if look to,you and=if I,will_see_you )

Elisha is saying he would actually not even look at or regard the king of Israel. He means that he would not do the slightest thing to help him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [I would not do the slightest thing to help you]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

אִם־אַבִּ֥יט אֵלֶ֖י⁠ךָ וְ⁠אִם־אֶרְאֶֽ⁠ךָּ

if (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said ʼElīshāˊ he/it_lived YHWH armies/messengers which/who stand before,,him that/for/because/then/when not face/surface_of Yəhōshāfāţ/(Jehoshaphat) king Yehuda I lifting/taking if look to,you and=if I,will_see_you )

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine them and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [I would not even look at you at all]