The sentence begun at the end of 12.5 continues here and translators should be careful to ensure the link is maintained.

They said to him: The pronoun they refers to the Gileadites. Said is better rendered “would say” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) to express the habitual or repeated action here. The pronoun him refers to the fleeing Ephraimite.

Then say Shibboleth: The Gileadites asked the Ephraimites to say the word Shibboleth to test their identity. This request has nothing to do with the meaning of the word Shibboleth, which may mean “grain [of wheat].” Rather, the pronunciation of the word allowed the Gileadites to know if the Ephraimites were telling the truth. Those who were true Gileadites could pronounce the Sh sound at the beginning of the word, while those from Ephraim pronounced S in its place. In many languages around the world, the “s” sound commonly shifts to “sh” before high vowels such as “i.” Ironically, this may be evidence for Ephraim’s claim that the people of Gilead broke off from them. Evidently Ephraim’s dialect conserved the older form, while Gilead’s dialect developed a new pronunciation. Some biblical scholars think these ethnic groups divided at least three centuries prior to this incident. In any case, they had to have separated for a long enough time beforehand for this kind of dialect difference to emerge. Obviously, feelings of self-identify and even hostility to other groups had developed. The word Shibboleth can be transliterated and put in (single) quotes in target languages. However, some languages will not recognize a Shibboleth/Sibboleth distinction, and if this is the case, translators can substitute another distinction, for example, “Sibboleth”/“Fibboleth” or “Sibboleth”/“Zibboleth.” Some versions decide to put a common dialect difference into their translation; for example, Traducción en Lenguaje Actual has “muchacho” and “mushasho,” but it is recommended to retain the original words as cited in the Hebrew text. In Hebrew the verb say is followed by the politeness marker naʾ, which is often rendered in other contexts as “please.” There may be irony here, since the guards from Gilead seem overly polite. If the direct speech here can be preserved, it will convey this high point of the section.

And he said, “Sibboleth”: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and may be translated “If” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version). The pronoun he refers to the Ephraimite trying to cross the river. For the transliteration of the word Sibboleth, see the comments above.

For he could not pronounce it right: The Hebrew waw conjunction at the beginning of this clause may be rendered for or “since.” Revised Standard Version emends the Hebrew text here, which reads “and he did not establish to speak thus.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives a {B} rating to the Hebrew text. However, even if the Hebrew is followed, a dynamic translation would probably be the same as the one in ver RSVver*. Pronounce translates the Hebrew verb meaning “speak” (dabar). In all cultures people view their own dialect as the right one and others’ as incorrect, so we might say “because he could not pronounce it correctly [or, properly],” “… say it in the right way,” or “… speak it in the same way they did.” It is also possible to say “since he could not pronounce ‘sh’ ” or “since he could not say ‘Shibboleth,’ ” even though these two models are more specific than the text.

Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan: This is what happened to the fleeing Ephraimites, once the test revealed that they had lied. The pronoun they refers to the soldiers of Gilead, and the pronoun him to the Ephraimite. For the Hebrew verb rendered seized, see verse 1.6, where it is translated “caught.” Here it may be rendered “took [hold of]” or “grabbed.” Slew translates a strong word in Hebrew meaning “kill” or “slaughter.” We might say “then the guards from Gilead would grab the person from Ephraim and kill him right there at one of the Jordan River crossings.”

And there fell at that time forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites is literally “And it fell at that time from Ephraim 42,000.” This summary statement begins with the Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And. Some languages may prefer a connector that introduces a conclusion, such as “Thus” (New American Bible). There fell is an impersonal phrase that mirrors the Hebrew. The verb fell is very significant here, since it shows not only the defeat and death of the Ephraimite soldiers, but also the irony of the situation. In previous stories the enemies of Israel are all described as “fallen” (verse 3.25; verse 4.16, 22; verse 5.27; verse 8.10; verse 9.40). Here the Ephraimites, the brothers of the people of Gilead, are described in the same way. If possible, translators should keep the verb for fell used in the previous contexts, but if this is not possible, they may say “died” or “lost their lives” (Revised English Bible). At that time is a literal rendering of the Hebrew. The Gileadites killed the Ephraimites over a period of time, so this phrase may be rendered “during that time.” New Jerusalem Bible says “on this occasion,” but this rendering does not seem appropriate, since the massacre did not occur at one time. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites expresses the extent of the massacre. In the census given in the book of Numbers three centuries earlier, there were 40,500 Ephraimites (Num 1.33). So this means a good part of the tribe was slain. Since forty-two thousand is a multiple of seven, this number may have some significance, which remains unknown. This whole clause may be rendered “During that period, 42,000 men of Ephraim died.” Contemporary English Version has “Altogether, forty-two thousand men from Ephraim were killed in the battle and at the Jordan.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• then the Gileadites would say to him, “Say ‘Shibboleth.’ ” And if he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not say “sh” properly, they would arrest that person and kill him right there at one of the river crossings. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites lost their lives during that period.

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 .