Here the storyteller tells what happens after Ehud killed the king, using many words and expressions from previous verses. There is also a wordplay based on the Hebrew word for went out here and in the preceding verse, and another wordplay with the Hebrew words rendered roof chamber and locked.

Then Ehud went out into the vestibule: Then renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which may be translated as in Revised Standard Version or omitted (New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Went out renders the same Hebrew verb that is translated “came out” in the previous verse (see also comments on verse 3.19). Ehud is making a quick escape. Vestibule renders another Hebrew term that occurs only here in the entire Old Testament, so its meaning is uncertain. It may mean “porch” or “terrace,” a kind of roof supported with pillars outside the room where the king and Ehud met. As noted above, the Hebrew word here sounds like the word rendered “dirt” in verse 3.22. Good News Translation avoids the term by translating “Then Ehud went outside.” The translator may also generalize by saying “Then Ehud quickly left the room.” Another possible model is “Ehud went out on the terrace.”

And closed the doors of the roof chamber upon him: This clause repeats the verb closed used in the previous verse to describe the king’s fat folding over the sword in his belly. Here it refers to the closing of doors. This verb may pose some problems in cultures where solid doors are not common. Perhaps an illustration can help the reader. The roof chamber is the same upper room referred to in verse 3.20 (see comments there). In most languages translators can simply say “he shut the doors [of the room].”

The phrase upon him raises some issues for interpretation and translation, since the referent for the pronoun him is ambiguous, referring either to Ehud or the king. It also is not clear if this person is inside or outside the roof chamber. Some versions think Ehud closed the doors behind himself, as in New International Version: “he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them” (similarly English Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible). Others think Ehud locked the king inside his room (Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), where upon him would refer to the king. This latter interpretation fits with the narrative that follows, since the king’s attendants find him locked behind closed doors. Some believe Ehud locked the doors from the inside “on himself.” But in this case, he would have to find a way out. Thus Contemporary English Version proposes Ehud locking himself in and then climbing out the window, but these details are not present in the text. This version does add a footnote saying the meaning of the Hebrew text is uncertain. Whichever solution is adopted, a footnote with alternative interpretations may be appropriate.

And locked them is literally “and he locked,” with Ehud as subject. Most languages will need to supply an object, as Revised Standard Version has done, where the pronoun them refers to the doors. The text does not say how the doors were locked or if a key was used. What is important here is that the attendants come to find the doors locked. If there is not a good expression for locked, the translator might have to say “blocked” or “closed tightly.” The Hebrew word translated locked sounds like the word for roof chamber, another probable wordplay.

Models for the translation of this verse are:

• Then Ehud escaped through the porch, locking the doors of the room on Eglon.

• Having closed and locked the doors behind him, Ehud then escaped through the terrace.

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 .