And Judah said to Simeon his brother: And translates the Hebrew waw conjunction, but given the context, it might be rendered “Then” (New International Version) or “So,” or omitted (Good News Translation).

Judah and Simeon both refer to tribes and not to individuals. Some languages may be able to use forms such as “the Judahites” and “the Simeonites.”

The Hebrew verb for said is the same here as in verse 1.2. Translators can substitute a more specific verb, such as “invited,” “proposed,” or “suggested” if they prefer.

Simeon his brother gives a literal rendering of the Hebrew singular form, which has a collective meaning here. Most translators will prefer to use a plural. Brother is a kinship term that shows Judah and Simeon were brothers, with the same father (Gen 29.33, 35). Thus the two tribes descended from these two ancestors were closely related (verse 19.1). Later in their history, they actually became one group. In some languages the word “brother” is used in exactly the same way as in Hebrew and so can be retained here. However, some English versions prefer to say “relatives” (Contemporary English Version) or “kinsmen” (Revised English Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh uses the expression “brother-tribe,” which gives the right idea, but is not very natural in English. More explicitly, we might say “The people of the clan of Judah said to their relatives from the clan of Simeon.”

If the word brother, either singular or plural, is retained, in many languages it may be necessary to specify which of the brothers is older. In this case Simeon is older than Judah. If necessary, we might say “The descendants of Judah put a proposal to the descendants of Simeon, Judah’s older brother.”

Come up with me into the territory allotted to me: Once again the key verb “come/go up” refers to going into battle. Thus Judah is requesting Simeon’s help in capturing the land that God has promised to the people of Israel. A military term can be used here, such as “March” (New Jerusalem Bible), or a more general expression, such as “come help conquer,” “take,” or “attack.”

With me refers to the tribe of Judah. The dialogue is presented as if two individuals rather than two tribes are talking. Certainly each tribe had its representatives. In most languages it will be more natural to use a plural “us”: “Come help us conquer…” or “Come with us to help us take….”

The territory allotted to me, which is literally “my lot,” refers here to the land that was given to the tribe of Judah, as assigned by Moses (see verse 15). The Hebrew word for “lot” (goral) refers to the object cast to determine some fact or to make some choice, whether by Jews (verse 14.2-5) or non-Jews (Jonah 1.7). By extension, the word refers here to the land promised by the LORD to each tribe. Translators should try to find a term that differs from the word for “land” in verse 1.2, for example, “portion,” “area,” “region,” or “parcel.” The verb allotted does not occur in Hebrew but if a verb is needed, we might say “given” or “assigned” (Good News Translation). In some languages an agent will need to be specified. Joshua was the one who was in charge of the distribution, but ultimately it was God who determined the lots, so we might say “the land that God has given us.” To me is once again a reference to the tribe of Judah. See above.

That we may fight against the Canaanites gives the goal of the invitation. The pronoun we refers to the combined tribes of Judah and Simeon. May fight renders the same Hebrew verb as in verse 1.1. At that time the Canaanites were living in the land assigned to the tribe of Judah, so the people of Judah needed to drive them out before they could take control of that territory. Some languages may prefer to make this purpose clause into an independent clause, as in Good News Translation: “and we will fight the Canaanites together.”

For the first half of this verse we might say:

• The people of Judah invited their brothers, the people of Simeon to join them in battle against the Canaanites. They were to fight for the territory God had promised them.

• The descendants of Judah said to their relatives, the descendants of Simeon, “Come into our territory and help us fight against the Canaanites so we can capture the plot of land God has given to us.”

And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you is literally “and I also, I will go with you in your lot.” In typical Hebrew fashion the first suggestion is balanced by the second one. If Simeon helps Judah, then Judah will in turn help Simeon. Since there is a kind of pact being set up, it may be possible to use a condition-consequence construction, for example, “If you help us fight … then we will help you….” Though the two clauses are almost identical, the Hebrew verb for go is more general than the verb rendered Come up. However, the meaning is the same and identical verbs can be used if necessary. I likewise is emphatic, showing this is a solemn promise. Another way to show the emphasis is to use a verb such as “promise,” or a word such as “surely” or “certainly.” For example, we might say “If you do, then we promise to join you in capturing the land allotted to you” or “We will [in return] certainly help you fight for the territory God has given you.” The pronouns I and you are singular, but as noted above, will be better rendered as plurals in most languages, for example, “Come with us to help us conquer the land God gave to us, and we too, we will come and help you conquer the land God gave to you.”

So Simeon went with him indicates that the tribe of Simeon agreed to fight with the tribe of Judah against the Canaanites. So effectively renders the Hebrew waw conjunction here, which introduces the result of the discussion. Simeon accepts Judah’s invitation. Went renders the general Hebrew verb for “go” used in the previous clause. The pronoun him refers to Judah. We can follow Revised Standard Version here, or say “Simeon agreed to fight with Judah.” Good News Translation has “So the tribes of Simeon and Judah went into battle together,” which may slightly shift the emphasis. Here the focus is on Simeon’s acceptance of Judah’s request.

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 .