The servants grew more and more concerned as the king failed to come out of the toilet. Indeed, as the storyteller goes on, the suspense and humor, as well as the audience’s delight in all the gruesome details, grow greater.
And they waited till they were utterly at a loss: Here Revised Standard Version‘s rendering is acceptable, but does not express the humor of the original text, which is literally “And they waited until ashamed.” The servants’ dilemma is a serious one. They did not want to anger the king by bothering or embarrassing him, but they also wondered if something serious had happened to him. Rendering the verb waited will normally not pose a problem, though some languages may prefer an idiomatic expression, such as “waited around.” In other languages the verb can be repeated, for example, “waited and waited.”
Until they were utterly at a loss is literally “until ashamed,” a difficult clause to render. One possibility would be to say “not knowing what to do.” Contemporary English Version‘s rendering “until they felt foolish” is probably not the meaning here. Good News Translation is a little more general with “as long as they thought they should,” but this translation does not convey the humor here. In some West African languages special expressions exist, such as “untilllll [they were] tired.” This seems to be a perfect match with the tone of the Hebrew text. Translators should try to render not just the meaning but also the humorous tone here.
But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber: The suspense and the servants’ consternation continue to grow. The servants expect the king to come out of the toilet. In Hebrew this independent clause is literally “but behold [hinneh] not he [emphatic] opening the doors of the roof chamber.” Here the Hebrew word hinneh expresses the servants’ emotion, whether surprise, consternation, or dismay. This marker also indicates that the information that follows is pertinent to the story line. The Hebrew participle for “opening” draws out the action, which Revised Standard Version renders well with the addition of still. Instead of making this clause dependent, as Revised Standard Version has done, it is possible to reflect the independent clause in Hebrew by saying “But to their continued surprise, the king still did not open the doors of the roof chamber.” The doors of the roof chamber can be understood from the context, so this phrase does not necessarily need to be translated here. In cultures where the reference to doors is difficult, a possible translation is “But to their great surprise, the king still did not come out.”
They took the key and opened them: This clause begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction, which may be rendered “So.” The pronoun they refers to the servants. In most languages these participants will take a pronominal form, especially at this high point of the story. This is the first time there is an overt reference to the key, though it is assumed in the previous discourse, since the doors were locked. The text does not say, however, how the servants obtained the key or whether they had to retrieve it from some hidden place. If Ehud came out of the room and locked the door, the key may have been lying on the floor, but this is just one possible scenario. Translators will have to render this text in a general way, since no details are given here. They took the key may be rendered simply as “They got the key.” Most cultural groups will have a word for key, though often borrowed from another language. However, if there is no word, then translators may have to say simply “they opened the doors.” For opened them, Revised Standard Version supplies the object pronoun them, that is, the doors, which does not occur in Hebrew. The use of two verbs took and opened again slows down the action right before the story climax, occurring in the next clause.
And there lay their lord dead on the floor: Here is the highest point of drama in the story. It begins with the important hinneh marker followed by two participles in the Hebrew text, literally “and behold their lord falling on ground being dead.” Hinneh (“behold”) marks the servants’ utter surprise and disbelief. Revised Standard Version puts the verb lay before the subject lord to mark this surprising discovery. All languages have ways of marking such high points in stories, which will help translators convey the emotion here. Lay renders the Hebrew participle for “falling” (nafal), a verb that will appear again and again to describe the defeated enemy (verse 4.22; verse 5.27).
Their lord refers to the king. Lord renders the same Hebrew word (ʾadon) used to refer to the lord of Bezek, Adoni-bezek (see comments on verse 1.5). It is also used to refer to the Lord God and to his representative (see verse 6.13, verse 15). In the latter part of the book, the word will occur four times in relation to the Levite (verse 19.11, 12, 26, 27). The word ʾadon literally means “master” or “owner,” but curiously here it is in the plural even though it is a singular reference. Is it possible that this is an ironic play on words, based on the plural Hebrew word ʾelohim (“God/gods”)? The phrase their lord shows the relationship of the servants to their king, thus heightening the emotion of their reaction at this discovery.
Dead renders another Hebrew participle. In many languages another verb form or an adjective will be used here (so Revised Standard Version). In Hebrew this word is the last one in the sentence, so the suspense is drawn out to the very end. New International Version tries to imitate this style, saying “There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.” The use of an exclamation point can help convey the surprise, for example, “And there was their master, lying on the ground, dead!” Certainly this word order helps express the shock the servants feel. However, not every language will appreciate this way of presenting the facts and some may prefer the Revised Standard Version order. ver RSVver* has the phrase on the floor at the end of the clause, while in Hebrew it is part of a set phrase with the verb for “fall”: “falling to the ground.” The Hebrew word rendered floor is ʾerets, most often rendered in this book as “land.” This is another case of a word with various meanings evoking the past. However, in this context a word such as “ground” would probably be preferred.
Some translation examples for this verse are:
• They waited and waited, not knowing what to do. But still the king did not open the door! So they unlocked it, and there, lying on the ground, was their master, the king—dead!
• The servants kept waiting until they could wait no more, and the king still did not open the door! They got the key and opened the door. And what did they find? Their king lying dead on the floor!
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 .