The LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel: Revised Standard Version omits the Hebrew waw conjunction at the beginning of this clause. If the previous verse is rendered as an introductory logical or temporal clause, this conjunction can be omitted. But if the preceding clause is independent as in Good News Translation, the conjunction “and” or “so” would be a proper transition. The key Hebrew verb rendered sent (shalach) often occurs in accounts of the LORD’s deliverance (see, for example, verse 9.23). However, here he sent a prophet, not a deliverer, so the Hebrew verb meaning “raise up” (qum) is not used (see comments on verse 2.16). A prophet is literally “a man, a prophet,” a phrase found only here in the Old Testament. However, it is parallel to the phrase “a woman, a prophet” in verse 4.4, referring to Deborah. Like Revised Standard Version, many versions say simply “a prophet,” but there may be some merit to keep the longer expression. If a language makes a distinction between prophet and “prophetess,” the masculine form should of course be used here. For prophet see verse 4.4.

And he said to them: The pronoun he refers to the prophet, and the pronoun them refers to the Israelites.

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel begins the prophet’s message. Thus says the LORD is an important expression often used to introduce prophetic speeches. Its function is to remind the people that what they are about to hear is not the opinion of the prophet, but the word of Yahweh. It establishes the authority of the prophet’s message. We might say “Hear what Yahweh … has to say” or “These are the words of the LORD….” New International Version has “This is what the LORD … says.” Good News Translation renders this expression indirectly by beginning the verse with “and he [the LORD] sent them a prophet who brought them this message from the LORD….” However, this rendering misses the strong impact in Hebrew. Contemporary English Version is very dynamic and serves as a possible model: “Then the LORD sent a prophet to them with this message: ‘I am the LORD…, so listen to what I say.’ ” The LORD, the God of Israel is a longer name of God, which is used here to underline the importance of this message and to reflect the special relationship between him and the Israelites (see comments on verse 4.6 and verse 5.3).

I led you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage: These expressions occur frequently in the book of Deuteronomy (see, for example, verse 5.6; verse 6.12; verse 8.14; verse 13.5, 10), but only rarely in the book of Judges (see verse 2.1, verse 12). When the LORD speaks through a prophet, the form of speech is often poetic, as is the case here. These two parallel clauses are literally:

I myself brought you up from Egypt,
I brought you out from [a] house of slaves.

These repetitive clauses underline the importance of the LORD’s role in the past deliverance of the Israelites and his relationship with them.

The pronoun I, which refers to the LORD, occurs as an emphatic pronoun in Hebrew. Translators should seek a way to render this emphasis in the LORD’s speech. For the Hebrew phrase rendered led you up from Egypt, see the comments on verse 2.1, where it is translated “brought you up from Egypt.”

And brought you out of the house of bondage does not occur in God’s speech in verse 2.1-3. Brought you out is literally “caused you to come out.” The Hebrew verb here (ʿalah) plays a major role in this book (see comments on verse 1.24), but if this verb cannot be used in such a context, we might repeat “led you out” or even “delivered you from.” Out of the house of bondage is parallel to from Egypt in the preceding line, but adds the information that Egypt was a place of slavery. In most languages a literal rendering of this figurative expression will not be natural, but there are many possible ways to translate it, for example, “the land of slavery” (New International Version; similarly Revised English Bible), “the place of slavery” (New American Bible), “the place of slave-labour” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “the land where you were slaves.”

Good News Translation reduces the parallelism in these two clauses, saying simply “I brought you out of slavery in Egypt.” This may be an easier solution, but it loses some of the impact of the LORD’s forceful statement. Contemporary English Version reorganizes these two clauses, giving quite a dynamic (if not too poetic) rendering: “You were slaves in Egypt, but I set you free and led you out of Egypt into this land.” In most languages it will be better to retain the parallelism, since these are words coming from God through a prophet.

This verse contains a quote within a quote, so translators will need to decide how best to handle this issue. Some translation models are:

• So the LORD sent a prophet to speak to the Israelites. He said,
“Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to you:
‘It is I who led you out of Egypt,
I took you out of the place of slavery.

• and the LORD sent a man, a prophet, to speak to the Israelites, and he said,
“Hear what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says:
‘I myself brought you up from Egypt,
the land where you were slaves.

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 .