And he said to him: Translators will have to decide if the referents for the pronouns he and him are clear. If not, the referents can be made explicit, for example, “Then Gideon answered the LORD” or “Then Gideon replied, saying.”
If now I have found favor with thee (literally “If, please, I find favor in your eyes”) is a standard expression of politeness found throughout the Old Testament, for example, when Abraham addressed the divine messengers (Gen 18.3), when Jacob addressed his son Joseph (Gen 47.29), and when Moses addressed God (Exo 34.9). “To find favor” means that the person has been accepted by the other, as when the LORD accepted Noah (Gen 6.8). However, this frozen expression need not be rendered literally here. Good News Translation‘s “If you are pleased with me” does not sound very natural. A better equivalent in English is “Please, can I make a request of you?” or “Please, can you grant me one favor.” Contemporary English Version‘s “It’s hard to believe that I’m actually talking to the LORD” goes far beyond the meaning of the text and should not be used here as a model.
Then show me a sign that it is thou who speakest with me: Gideon wants some proof that he is really speaking with God. The Hebrew word for sign does not necessarily imply something miraculous or unusual. It can be any symbol or action that will prove to Gideon that it is indeed Yahweh who is speaking. If a word for sign does not exist in the target language, we might say “do something so I’ll know” (Contemporary English Version), “give me some proof” (Good News Translation), or “prove to me.” That it is thou who speakest with me is literally “that [it is] you speaking with me.” The pronoun thou is an old English form for second person singular that was used to address God. The normal pronoun to address God should be used in the target language. Speakest is another old English form, but modern language should be used here as well. This verb renders a participle in Hebrew, which emphasizes present activity. For this whole clause we can say “then show me that it is really you who is speaking.” Good News Translation puts more emphasis on the identity of the speaker by saying “give me some proof that you are really the LORD.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “Please do something so I’ll know that you really are the LORD.”
Some possible translation models for this verse are:
• Gideon said to him, “If you have really chosen me, then do something to prove that you really are the LORD.
• Then Gideon replied, “Please, grant me one thing. Give me a sign that it is really you, LORD, who is speaking to me.
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 .