And the LORD said to Gideon: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may be translated “Then” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation) or “After that.” In some languages there will be a new paragraph here.

The people are still too many: This clause basically repeats God’s words at the beginning of verse 7.2, except that the word still is added. The LORD is not yet satisfied. Again The people may be rendered “The warriors” or “The troops” (New Revised Standard Version). Despite the fact that 22,000 men have returned home, the size of the remaining army (10,000 men) is still too large for the LORD’s purposes.

Take them down to the water: God tells Gideon to lead the 10,000 warriors to a place where there is water. Take … down renders a causative form of the Hebrew verb meaning “go down” (yarad), which occurs frequently in this book (see, for example, verse 1.9, 34; verse 3.27). Take them down may be rendered “lead them,” “bring them,” or possibly “tell them to go.” The water is literally “the waters,” which probably refers to the spring mentioned in verse 7.1. Though water is plural in Hebrew, the most common form of the word should be used. In some languages it may be necessary to say “to the edge of the water.” At this point it is not evident to readers why the warriors are to go down to the water, but this becomes clear as the story unfolds.

And I will test them for you there: The Hebrew verb rendered test is often used to refer to the refining process applied to metals, smelting them, to separate valuable minerals from the useless rock and other material. Sometimes it is used in connection with God testing the hearts of human beings. Here the idea seems to be that God will “separate” (Good News Translation) the warriors into groups. New Revised Standard Version and Jerusalem Bible use the verb “sift,” but this figurative expression may not be understood by all readers. Some possible renderings for I will test them are “I will divide them,” “I will sort them into two groups,” and “I will choose two groups.” The pronoun you refers to Gideon, and the adverb there refers to the water.

And he of whom I shall say to you, ‘This man shall go with you,’ shall go with you; and any of whom I say to you, ‘This man shall not go with you,’ shall not go: The LORD now explains how Gideon is to further reduce the number of the troops. God will personally tell Gideon who should stay and who should go. In Hebrew there are two parallel statements here, one positive and one negative. They are literally:

and he is who I say to you, this one he will go with you, he will go with you,
but all who I say to you, this one he will not go with you, he will not go.

A good way to express these two statements may be to begin each one with a conditional clause by saying “If I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ … If I say to you, ‘This one will not go with you,’ ….”

The pronoun he refers to some of the remaining soldiers. Go renders the generic Hebrew verb that can also mean “walk” (halak), but here it means “go [to battle].” In Hebrew the word for man does not appear, but rather the demonstrative pronoun for This. However, translators can follow Revised Standard Version with the word man, since these warriors were certainly men. At the end of verse shall not go may be rendered “will remain,” “will stay behind,” or “will go back home.”

These two parallel sentences show Hebrew’s preference for repeating ideas. There is also sound repetition here since the sequence l-k occurs six times. This sound effect will probably be impossible to render in translation. Some languages will not appreciate the repetition. If so, the two sentences can be combined by saying “If I say to you this one should go with you and that one should not, then that is what you should do.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “I’ll tell you which ones can go along with you and which ones must go back home.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then Yahweh said to Gideon, “You still have too many warriors. Go with them down to the water, where I’ll divide them for you. Those I say can go with you, can go. Those I say should not go with you, should not go.”

• After this the LORD said to Gideon, “Your warriors are still too many. So lead them to where the water is, and I will separate them for you into two groups. If I say this person can go with you, then take him. If I say that one cannot go, then he must stay behind.”

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 .

This verse is obviously a high point in the story, and the narrator marks it by the word Behold (Hebrew hinneh), along with a play on words using the key term hand.

And he came to the men of Succoth, and said: Armed with the list of names, Gideon returned to Succoth. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may be translated “So” (New American Bible) or “Then” (Good News Translation). Came is a literal rendering, but many languages will prefer “went” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). The men of Succoth may refer to all the town’s inhabitants (so Revised English Bible with “the people of Succoth”), but more likely it refers to its leaders (so Contemporary English Version with “the town officials”). This whole sentence may be rendered “So Gideon went to the leaders of Succoth, and said to them.”

Behold, Zebah and Zalmunna: The Hebrew word hinneh rendered Behold marks the high point or climax of this episode. It also serves as a kind of demonstrative to introduce the two Midianite kings, so Contemporary English Version renders this clause as “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna.” This is what the town leaders had demanded earlier (verse 8.6), hardly expecting Gideon to be able to capture them. Good News Translation says “Well, here they are!” which is quite dynamic. We may also say “Take a look at this!” or “Here, see for yourselves!”

About whom you taunted me is a relative clause that describes the two kings. The leaders of Succoth made fun of Gideon when he asked for food for his troops. They mockingly said they wanted Gideon to capture the kings before they granted his request. The Hebrew verb for taunted may be rendered “mocked” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This relative clause may be translated as an independent one by saying “These are the two you mocked me about” or “You laughed at me earlier because of these two!” A more dynamic model is “You didn’t think I could catch these two, did you?”

Saying introduces what the leaders of Succoth said to Gideon as they taunted him.

Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are faint?: This is a quote of what Succoth’s leaders said earlier to Gideon (see verse 8.6). In many cultures this repetition is an important part of storytelling style and underlines the fact that the leaders were wrong to make this statement. In such languages the exact words from 8.6 should appear, which will probably mean using a quote within a quote. Translators should follow standard punctuation agreed upon by the translation team and the community. A possible model that keeps both levels of quotation is “Here they are, the two people you taunted me about! You said, ‘Where are Zebah and Zalmunna? Show them to us before we give food to your men who are so exhausted!’ ” If the embedded quote is too complicated or unnatural, then translators will have to use indirect speech, for example, “You wanted me to prove that I already had captured Zebah and Zalmunna before you would give food to my men who were exhausted.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• So Gideon returned to the town of Succoth and told the leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna! Do you remember them? You made fun of me and asked if I had already captured them. You refused to give food to my troops dropping from exhaustion.”

• Then Gideon went to the leaders of Succoth and said to them, “You mocked me by saying, ‘Have you already defeated Zebah and Zalmunna? Why should we give food to your tired army?’ Well, look, here they are!”

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 .

This verse and the following one interrupt the flow of what Jotham had started to say. It leaves the conditional clauses unfinished, since no consequence is immediately expressed. It is as if Jotham is overcome with emotion and begins reciting all the things his father, Gideon, did for the people of Shechem—things for which they were never grateful. Several versions put a long dash at the beginning of this verse and another one at the end of 9.18 as a way of marking these comments as an aside. Parentheses or square brackets might make it appear that this is background material, when, in fact, it is an important part of Jotham’s speech. How translators handle such comments depends on their language.

The three short clauses in this verse sum up the “good” Gideon did, describing his efforts to deliver the people of Shechem. The quickness of speech reveals Jotham’s strong emotion.

For my father fought for you: For renders the Hebrew relative clause marker ʾasher meaning “which,” here introducing the “good” that Gideon had done. Normally, Jotham would have said “our father,” but here he calls Gideon my father, perhaps because of his emotions and because he is the only one of seventy sons who survived the attack of their half-brother Abimelech. Also, this is certainly a wordplay, since the Hebrew word for my father (ʾabi) makes up the first part of Abimelech’s name. Fought renders the Hebrew verb (lacham) meaning “battle” or “wage war” (see verse 1.1). The pronoun you refers to the people of Shechem, even though Gideon did not fight specifically for them, but rather for their whole tribe, when he and his army defeated the Midianites.

And risked his life: Jotham claims that Gideon risked his own life to free the people of Shechem from the Midianite oppression. The Hebrew says literally “and he threw his life in front,” that is, “he put his life on the line.” There is nothing in the text to say which particular incident Jotham has in view, though we might think of the time when Gideon crept up to the Midianite camp (verse 7.11), when he led his tiny army to sound their trumpets (verse 7.19), when he faced the anger of the Ephraimites (verse 8.1-3), or when he finally captured the Midianite kings (verse 8.12). However, the purpose of the statement is clear. Jotham wants the people of Shechem to realize that they should have appreciated the “good” his father had done for them. Most languages will have an idiomatic expression for risked his life. If not, translators may say “was willing to die.”

And rescued you from the hand of Midian: This is an overall summary of the “good” Gideon did: he saved his people from their enemies. For the Hebrew verb rendered rescued, see verse 8.34. It is not the word used typically to describe the actions of the Israel’s judges. Nevertheless, it carries the same meaning of “deliver.” The pronoun you still refers to the people of Shechem, though certainly a wider population might also be in view. For from the hand of Midian, see verse 8.22. This clause is an independent one in Hebrew, but some versions prefer to render it as a dependent one. For example, Good News Translation combines it with the previous one, saying “He risked his life to save you from the Midianites,” and New Living Translation has “and risked his life when he rescued you from the Midianites.” Translators can keep the three independent clauses or combine them, depending on the constraints of the target language.

This aside is part of Jotham’s appeal to the people of Shechem. He begs them to think again about the wisdom of making Abimelech their king. He contrasts Abimelech, a worthless bramble, with his father Gideon, a real hero of Israel.

Translation models for this verse are:

• My father fought for you all. He risked his own life to rescue you from the oppression of the Midianites.

• Listen, my father went to war for you. He put his life on the line for you, and saved you from your enemies, the Midianites.

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 .

Once again it is a woman—this time an unnamed one—who wins victory and serves as God’s agent for punishing an evildoer. Ironically, however, Abimelech is not a foreign enemy of God’s people, but an Israelite, and even more astonishing, Gideon’s own son! The book of Judges has taken a sad turn: the heroes of Israel no longer save them. Rather, they themselves are killed by unnamed persons. As in the Sisera story, part of the greatness of victory is that death by a woman was considered particularly humiliating. In the story of Jael, Barak was robbed of his victory and Sisera is remembered as having died at the hands of a woman. In the same way this “anti-hero” of the Israelites, Abimelech, suffered a dishonorable death.

And a certain woman threw an upper millstone upon Abimelech’s head: A certain woman introduces a heroine who will bring an end to the “anti-hero” Abimelech. A certain woman is literally “one woman,” which ties this episode back ironically to the beginning of this story, where Abimelech tries to be the “one” who will rule over Shechem (verse 9.2). As in the story of Jael and Sisera, a woman single-handedly kills a man with a reputation for strength and courage. The Hebrew verb rendered threw (shalak) is very significant, since it sounds like the verb shalach, the verb used to describe Ehud reaching for his dagger to kill King Eglon (verse 3.21), as well as the verb shalaf in the next verse, which describes Abimelech’s young servant drawing his sword to kill him. The millstone was certainly very heavy so a better verb might be “dropped” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

An upper millstone is the top stone of a hand mill that was used to grind grain into flour. The top stone was rotated to grind the grain against the stationary bottom stone. Such stones were very heavy, and could easily have killed a person in the manner described here. If millstones are not known in the target culture, an upper millstone may be rendered “a heavy stone for grinding [grain].” It is important that the use of the stone be expressed. This is yet another example of an everyday tool being used to obtain a victory in Israel. And it is certainly “poetic justice” that Abimelech, who killed seventy of his brothers on “one stone” is he himself killed by one stone.

The Hebrew word for head is part of the concentration of keywords in these final verses of the story, rendered mountain “top/tops” in verse 9.7, 25, 36 and “company/companies” in verse 9.34, 37, 43-44, Revised English Bible), or “split.” The skull is the bone that covers the brain. Crushing the skull normally leads to death. In this case, however, Abimelech did not die immediately, as the next verse reveals.

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 .

And said to him: This clause introduces Jephthah’s response through his envoys. The subject of the verb said is Jephthah, and the pronoun him refers to the Ammonite king.

Thus says Jephthah uses the well-known formula from the prophetic speeches when the prophet announces the words of the LORD, so there may be some irony here. At the very least, this expression shows the messengers have great esteem for their “master” Jephthah. Many languages will have a special style for introducing the words of another person, especially a superior: “Jephthah says this,” “So speaks Jephthah,” “Here are the words of Jephthah,” or simply “Jephthah declares.”

Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites: Here Jephthah strongly denies the accusation of the Ammonite king, using his same words. For take away, see verse 11.13. The land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites refers to the territory east of the Jordan River. For Moab see verse 3.12. This is Jephthah’s statement of denial. A fuller explanation is given in the following verses.

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 .

This verse gives the final details on Ibzan. It follows the same pattern used to describe all the other minor judges.

Then Ibzan died: Then renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which may be translated “And,” “So,” or “And so.” The connector used here should not give the impression that “as soon as” the seven years were completed he died. Unlike the other judges’ stories, Ibzan is not renamed at the end of this unit as “Ibzan of Bethlehem.” This clause may be rendered “And then Ibzan also died.” It is important that the same pattern be used throughout. Revised English Bible says “and when he died,” which is acceptable if all other such references follow the same pattern.

And was buried at Bethlehem: For was buried, see verse 12.7. The name Bethlehem forms an envelope around this short section. In many cultures it is considered a blessing to die and be buried where one was born.

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 .

With the heated words in the previous verse, the dialogue between Samson and his parents comes to an end. This verse is an aside from the narrator, offering an important explanation. The audience is informed that the LORD is, in fact, putting a plan in place to punish the Philistines. If possible, translators should try to show this is background material by using an appropriate expression. Here Hebrew begins with the waw conjunction, which may be rendered “Now” ( NET Bible), “For,” or even “But” (King James Version). Like Revised Standard Version, many other versions leave this conjunction untranslated. New International Version places the entire verse in parentheses to show it is background information, but this punctuation may raise problems for readers and probably should be avoided.

His father and mother did not know that it was from the LORD: His father and mother may be rendered “His parents” (Good News Translation) if necessary (see verse 14.2). Contemporary English Version omits this phrase, but it should be kept. Did not know that it was from the LORD is a literal rendering of the Hebrew text. Samson’s parents did not realize that God was controlling the situation. Know here means “realize” (New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “understand.” That renders the Hebrew particle ki, which introduces the content of what Samson’s parents did not realize. The pronoun it refers to the whole situation or series of events, specifically Samson’s wish to marry a Philistine girl. From the LORD is an indirect way of saying that it was Yahweh who was putting this situation in place. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders it was from the LORD as “this was the LORD’s doing,” and New American Bible says “this had been brought about by the LORD.” Good News Translation has “it was the LORD who was leading Samson to do this,” but this rendering may be too specific. Revised English Bible provides a good model, saying “Neither his father nor his mother knew that the LORD was at work in this.”

For he was seeking an occasion against the Philistines is literally “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.” The conjunction for (ki in Hebrew) introduces the reason that the LORD was putting the events concerning Samson in place or emphasizes this fact. We might render it “Indeed” or use a particle marking this significant fact. The LORD was allowing this situation to occur in order to create an incident that would lead to the defeat of the Philistines, Israel’s enemies. The pronoun he refers to Yahweh. Translators should look for a natural way to express this important idea, for example, “He was seeking a pretext against the Philistines” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines” (New Revised Standard Version), “the LORD was looking for a chance to fight the Philistines” (Good News Translation), or “the LORD was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines.” However, it should be clear that it is not the LORD himself who will do the fighting. New Jerusalem Bible says “who was seeking grounds for a quarrel with the Philistines,” but this rendering might mistakenly be understood as implying the LORD needed justification for his acts. We might say “because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble for the Philistines.”

At that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel: This sentence gives more background on the situation. The LORD sought the downfall of the Philistines to liberate the Israelites from their domination. This sentence begins with the waw conjunction in Hebrew, which is omitted in Revised Standard Version and many other versions. New Jerusalem Bible renders it “since,” which is a good possibility. At that time refers to the forty-year period during which the Philistines oppressed the Israelites (see verse 13.1). This phrase refers precisely to the time when Samson was a young man. It may be rendered “during that time” or “during that period.” Some versions place this phrase at the end of the sentence rather than at the beginning (New Living Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). For the Hebrew verb rendered had dominion, see verse 8.22 and verse 9.2, where it is translated “rule.” Here it is a participle in Hebrew, so it may be translated “were ruling” (Good News Translation) or “were governing.” verse 13.1 explains that this dominion came as the result of Israel’s sin against the LORD. It was not until the time of David that the Israelites eliminated the Philistine threat. Over Israel is literally “in Israel.” Here Israel could refer to the territory of Israel or its people. Contemporary English Version gives a good model: “At that time, the Philistines were in control of Israel.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• Now Samson’s parents did not know that Yahweh was behind all this and that he was looking for an opportunity to act against the Philistines. For during that time the Philistines had control over the Israelites.

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 .

This verse begins with the Hebrew word wayehi (literally “And it was/happened”). While this discourse marker often begins a story, here it marks some important information, that is, the naming of the town of Lehi in commemoration of Samson’s victory over the Philistines. Most versions omit this expression, but King James Version keeps it by saying “And it came to pass.” If possible, it should be rendered in the translation.

When he had finished speaking: Revised Standard Version presents the action here as occurring before the next one, but some versions see the actions as simultaneous. For example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “As he finished speaking.” Contemporary English Version uses the name “Samson” instead of the pronoun he, which other languages may find helpful. Since he had been singing a victory song, speaking may be better translated “reciting” (Boling) or “singing.” New Jerusalem Bible shortens the beginning of this verse to “And with that,” which is a good way to signal the end of this episode.

He threw away the jawbone out of his hand: Samson committed an impure act, since as a Nazirite he was not supposed to touch a fresh jawbone. The jawbone would have been even bloodier after he had killed 1,000 men! Threw away renders the same Hebrew verb translated “threw” in verse 9.53 (see comments there). Here it may be rendered “threw down” or “threw on the ground.” Contemporary English Version‘s “tossed … on the ground” might communicate a too light-hearted attitude. Out of his hand (literally “from his hand”) continues the emphasis on hand. However, in some languages a verb such as threw away will include the idea of “from his hand,” in which case, this phrase may be omitted. We might say “he threw the jawbone away” (Good News Translation), “he threw the jawbone down” ( NET Bible), or “he threw the jawbone to the ground.”

And that place was called Ramath-lehi: And renders the Hebrew waw conjunction. However, since the narrator makes a conclusion here, it may be translated “Therefore,” “That’s why,” or “For this reason.” That place was called is literally “he [Samson] called that place,” so Contemporary English Version says “[Samson] decided to call the place,” and Revised English Bible has “he called that place.” The name Ramath-lehi means “hill of the jawbone.” In Bible translation it is often difficult to know how to handle place names that have a special meaning and are tied in a special way to the story. Here translators have several options as follows: (1) transliterate the name, as in Revised Standard Version; (2) put the meaning in a footnote, as in Good News Translation; or (3) put the meaning in the text, as in Contemporary English Version. Contemporary English Version actually opts for a combination of (2) and (3) by putting the translated name in the text, with an explanation in a footnote. Some languages may want to include both the transliterated name and its meaning in the text itself. For example, this clause may be rendered “Therefore he called that place Ramath-Lehi, that is to say, ‘Jawbone Hill.’ ” Some may put “Jawbone Hill” in parentheses after the transliterated name and some may opt for only the translated name. Transliterating the name with no indication of its meaning in this context is not good translation practice, since readers would not be able to see the connection to the text. Clearly the first readers or hearers of the story, who spoke Hebrew, understood this comment.

Translation models for this verse are:

• When he finished saying that, Samson threw the jawbone away. For this reason they called that place Ramath-Lehi (Jawbone Hill).

• With that, Samson threw down the jawbone, and he named the place Jawbone Hill.

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 .