Following the day of weeping and praying, the people of Israel decide to act.

And on the morrow the people rose early is literally “And it was on the next day and the people rose early.” This verse begins with the Hebrew word wayehi (“And it was”), which often indicates that there is some kind of turning point in the story, and here the audience can feel the Israelites’ determination to move ahead to remedy the situation. There is also a change of time and activity here, so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New International Version insert a paragraph break. On the morrow may be rendered “the next morning” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “the next day” (New International Version). The Hebrew word for people (ʿam) is the general term used frequently to refer to the Israelites (see verse 2.4; verse 21.2). For rose early, see verse 6.28. We might say “Early the next morning, when the people woke up” or “The next day the people woke up early.”

And built there an altar: See the comments on verse 6.24. The adverb there refers to Bethel, where the people were assembled, but in some languages this may be obvious.

And offered burnt offerings and peace offerings: See the comments on verse 20.26.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Early the next morning the people got up and built an altar, where they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

• The people got up early the next day, built an altar in that place, and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [to the LORD].

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 .