This verse begins with a Hebrew waw conjunction that many versions choose to omit.

He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites means that King Eglon rallied more than his own people to join him in battle against the Israelites. Gathered renders a Hebrew verb form that sounds like the verb for “added” in the previous verse, so there may be a play on words here. Gathered to himself expresses a Hebrew idiom that can be rendered “gathered around himself,” “brought together [to fight with him],” or simply “assembled.” The Ammonites (literally “the sons [or, children] of Ammon”) were people who lived in the territory north of Moab, in a region of the country today called Jordan. This group was located near Amman, the present capital of Jordan. The Amalekites were the descendants of Amalek, who was the grandson of Esau (Gen 36.15-16). These enemy people attacked the Israelites as they made their way from Egypt to the Promised Land (Exo 17.8-16). We might say Eglon “brought the Ammonites and the Amalekites together under his command” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “invited the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join him to fight Israel.”

And went and defeated Israel: In Hebrew the verbs here are singular, with Eglon as the subject. This is to be expected since Eglon is the one leading the combined forces that attacked and defeated Israel. In many languages it will appropriate to keep Eglon as the subject. If not, the translator can use the pronoun “they.” Went renders the simple Hebrew verb that means “go,” and defeated renders the verb that means “strike” (see comments on verse 1.4).

And they took possession of the city of palms: The combined armies crossed the Jordan River and captured Jericho. Took possession of renders the key Hebrew verb (yarash) that figures so prominently in the introductory sections (see comments on verse 1.19). Translators are free to add the name “Jericho” to the text, since this is what the original audience understood when they heard this phrase.

A model for the translation of this verse is:

• Eglon brought together [into his army] the peoples of Ammon and Amalek, and together they went out and defeated Israel. They captured the town of Jericho, the city of palm trees.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .