Here the spies give more detail about the land and the people of Laish, encouraging their kinsmen to move. This verse is very emphatic, repeating information previously mentioned, as well as using many standard phrases from other books of the Old Testament. The narrator uses the exaggerated claims of the spies to make fun of the Danite people.
When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people: Go and come render the same Hebrew verb, which New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh makes evident by saying “When you come, you will come to….” The repetition of this verb is probably meant to be humorous, as the narrator portrays the spies’ boastful speech and the people’s hesitation. In many languages it may not be possible to use the same verb twice, so we might say “When you get there, you will find…” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). For unsuspecting people, see verse 18.7.
The land is broad is literally “and the land [is] broad of two hands,” an idiomatic expression found also in Gen. 34.21 and Isa 22.18. Broad describes the width of the land. New International Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say the land is “spacious,” while New Jerusalem Bible says it is “wide.” Contemporary English Version is even more dynamic, saying the land has “enough room for all of us.” However, the narrator uses the key term “hand” on purpose. Translators can reflect on how to render this idiomatic expression, if possible using this word.
Yea, God has given it into your hands: Yea renders the Hebrew particle ki, which is sometimes translated “because” or “for.” Here it is probably an emphatic marker, adding force to the statement, so we might say “indeed” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible). This clause seems almost an aside, and some versions treat it as such. For example, New Revised Standard Version places long dashes around it. However, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders ki as “for,” and places this clause at the beginning of the verse as the grounds for the command at the end of the previous verse.
God has given it into your hands renders the Hebrew literally. The Hebrew word for God is the generic term ʾelohim, which is often used in the mouth of non-Israelites (see verse 1.7; verse 7.14). The personal name of the God of Israel, Yahweh, is used more often in this book (see comments on “the LORD” at verse 1.1). The use of the generic word God may be a way of showing that the Danites were not following Yahweh at this time. For has given … into your hands, see verse 1.2. The pronoun it refers to the land, which may be made explicit if necessary. New American Bible says “God indeed has given it into your power.”
A place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth is literally “a place where there is not want of any thing that [is] on the land.” Place renders a general Hebrew word referring to a location, here pointing to the town of Laish. The word lack renders the same Hebrew root used in Psalm 23.1 for the verb “want.” Anything renders the general Hebrew word dabar, which can refer to food, water, land, or many other items. It occurs in verse 18.7, but with a different meaning. The land around Laish had everything the Danites could want. Earth renders the key Hebrew term ʾerets, which is often used to refer to the Promised Land, but here it refers more broadly to the earth as a whole (see verse 5.4). Some versions omit the words that is in the earth. For example, New International Version renders this whole clause as “a land that lacks nothing whatever.” In many languages a positive rather than a negative statement will make the point more effectively. For example, Contemporary English Version says “it has everything we will ever need,” and Good News Translation has “it has everything a person could want.”
One translation model for this verse is:
• When you reach there, you will find a people who suspects nothing [is going to happen to them]. The land stretches wide in all directions. Yes, this is the land God has already given into your hands, a land that has everything you need.”
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 .