And her father said …: The woman’s father tells Samson why he will not allow Samson to go into his wife’s bedroom. He has given her to another man. This is a high point in the story, full of suspense. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And introduces the next step in the narrative. Some versions omit it here (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible).

I really thought that you utterly hated her is literally “Saying I said that hating you hated her.” Both the Hebrew verbs for “say” and “hate” are repeated, a construction that is known to highlight and is often used in contexts of conflict. Here the father is trying to defend what he did. Translators should use whatever means they can to communicate that this is a high point in the story. In Hebrew, internal dialogue is usually expressed with verbs of speaking, so I really thought is a good rendering. Other possible models are “I was sure” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible), “I was quite certain,” and “I really believed.” For hated see verse 14.16. There is an obvious link between the daughter saying Samson must hate her and the father expressing the same idea here. The father thinks this because earlier Samson was furious, left Timnah and went back home (verse 14.19). He interpreted this action as a rejection of his daughter. New Revised Standard Version says “I was sure that you had rejected her,” and New American Bible is similar with “I thought it certain you wished to repudiate her.” Contemporary English Version has “When you left the way you did, I thought you were divorcing her” (see Deut 24.3, which lists hatred as a grounds for divorce). But it is important for translators to retain the verb hate here to keep the link with verse 14.16. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders you utterly hated her as “you had taken a dislike to her,” which is far too weak in this context.

So I gave her to your companion: So is a good rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction here, since it introduces a result. However, some languages may prefer the connector “and.” As in verse 1.12, the verb gave carries the sense of “give in marriage.” In verse 14.20 it is not stated who arranged this new marriage, but here it is clear it was the young woman’s father. For your companion, see verse 14.20. We might say “so I gave her [in marriage] to your best friend.”

Is not her younger sister fairer than she?: This story seems to have a link back to the story of Jacob when he was tricked into marrying Leah, the older sister, when he really wanted to marry Rachel, the younger one (Gen 29.21-25). Here the situation is reversed: Samson has married the older sister, but now the father is offering her younger sister. Many languages have special expressions for older and younger siblings and these should be used here. In Hebrew the younger daughter is described as tov (“good”), which is rendered fairer in Revised Standard Version. Fairer is an old English word designating beauty. In English this word also means light-colored or with light hair, so it should be avoided. Here the father is saying the younger daughter is “prettier” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation), “more attractive” (New International Version), or “more beautiful” (New Living Translation). This rhetorical question may be expressed as an affirmative statement. For example, Good News Translation has “But her younger sister is prettier, anyway.”

Pray take her instead is literally “Please let her be to you instead of her.” The Hebrew politeness marker naʾ rendered Pray can be translated “Please” or “I beg you.” Pray is an old English form, in this context having nothing to do with praying. We might say “Please marry her as your wife instead” or “I beg you, take her in place of the other.” As mentioned earlier, fathers arranged marriages often without the consent of their daughters.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Her father said, “I really thought you hated her, so I gave her to your friend to marry. But her younger sister is even prettier than she is. Please marry her instead.”

• Her father said, “I was sure you hated and rejected her, so I let your friend marry her. But her younger sister is prettier, don’t you think? I beg you, take her in her place.”

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 .