After the sign of fire and the angel’s sudden disappearance, Gideon finally realizes that he has been speaking with a divine messenger, and not an ordinary human being.

Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD: Then renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, but in this context it signals a sudden action. In some languages a stronger transition may be appropriate here, such as “Suddenly” or “All of a sudden.” Perceived renders the Hebrew verb meaning “see.” Here it may be translated “realized” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “came to understand.” The pronoun he refers to the divine messenger who had just disappeared. Contemporary English Version renders the angel of the LORD as “one of the LORD’s angels,” but as noted above (verse 6.11), this angel is unique and often interchangeable with the LORD. Some of the climactic feeling can be conveyed here by saying “Suddenly Gideon realized he had been speaking with the angel of the LORD!”

And Gideon said: The Hebrew waw conjunction here introduces a consecutive action, so it can be rendered and or “then,” or be omitted. Gideon is afraid at this point, so the verb said might be is better rendered “cried out in fear.” Contemporary English Version has “moaned,” and New International Version, “exclaimed.”

Alas, O Lord GOD! is a cry of despair addressed to Yahweh, since the Israelites believed that to actually see God would be fatal (see Exo 33.17-23). When Gideon realizes he has seen the LORD’s angel, he believes his life is in danger, so he cries Alas (ʾahah in Hebrew). Translators should have little difficulty finding an appropriate way of rendering this cry of despair. New Revised Standard Version says “Help me” and Contemporary English Version has “Oh!” In old English they might say “Woe is me!” but in modern English we might say “Oh no!” Good News Translation does not translate this exclamation but uses the adverbial phrase “in terror” to describe Gideon’s manner of speaking to the LORD. If possible, translators should try to follow the text, as reflected by Revised Standard Version here.

O Lord GOD is literally “my Lord Yahweh.” This is the first time this combined name of God appears in this book. It occurs only one other time in verse 16.28, when Samson cries out to the LORD for help to destroy the Philistines’ pagan temple. Revised Standard Version usually uses the phrase “the LORD” for “Yahweh,” so here it seeks a different solution, rendering “my Lord” as Lord and “Yahweh” as GOD. Despite the scarcity of this combined name of God in Judges, it occurs over 300 times in the Old Testament. So translators will need to find an equivalent for this name and use it consistently, as the context permits. New Jerusalem Bible uses “my Lord Yahweh,” but many translators feel it is better to follow Jewish tradition by avoiding the pronunciation of God’s name “Yahweh” out loud. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh adopts the same form as Revised Standard Version here.

For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face: Like Moses, Gideon encountered Yahweh directly (Deut 34.10). For now renders a complex Hebrew conjunction, which is literally “for on thus.” It introduces the reason for Gideon’s fear. Some versions leave this conjunction untranslated (Good News Translation), but translators should look for an effective transitional phrase. Revised English Bible renders it naturally by saying “Then it is true: I have seen….” I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face follows the Hebrew closely. Since Gideon is addressing the LORD, Good News Translation renders the angel of the LORD as “your angel,” which might serve as a model in other languages. The phrase face to face signifies a direct encounter. Languages may have special idiomatic forms to express this notion, for example, “eye to eye.” Contemporary English Version takes great liberty with the text by rendering this clause as “Now I am going to die!” and placing a literal rendering in a footnote. However, it would be better to retain the Hebrew text in the translation. A footnote can be added to explain what the implication of this act is.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Suddenly Gideon realized that he had been speaking with the angel of the LORD, and he said, “Help me, Lord GOD! I have seen your angel face to face.”

• Then Gideon knew that it was the LORD’s angel he had seen, and he cried out in fear, “O my Lord, GOD! I have seen the LORD’s angel face to face.”

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 .