And Gideon said to them: Gideon continues to speak to the Israelites here. However, it is not clear if the two parties are continuing their discussion or if there is some time lapse. New American Bible renders this clause as “Gideon went on to say” (similarly Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Since this dialogue starts a new episode dealing with an idol, translators may begin a new paragraph here.

Let me make a request of you: The people made a request of Gideon, and now he is the one to make a request of them. This clause is literally “Let me request from you a request,” in which the Hebrew verb and object come from the same root. This expression is emphatic, so we might say “Please let me make a request of you” or “I beg you, grant me one thing.” Translators might find an expression of exaggerated politeness, for example, “Now, let me ask something of you.”

Give me every man of you the earrings of his spoil: Gideon is requesting each Israelite soldier to give him the earrings they took as spoils from the fallen enemies. Give me every man of you is literally “give to me a man.” The Hebrew word for man can refer to men and women, but here it probably does refer to men, since Gideon is addressing his soldiers. We can say naturally “Each man should give me…” or “I want every man to give me….” The Hebrew word rendered earrings can refer to rings worn in the ears or noses. In Hebrew the term is singular, but it has a collective sense here. However, it is difficult to know whether Gideon is asking for just one earring from each person, or whether he wants all the earrings gathered by the soldiers. If earrings are unknown, translators may say “jewelry.” For spoils see verse 5.30. The earrings of his spoil refers to the earrings that were taken by the victorious soldiers, for example, “the earrings that you took from the enemy,” “the earrings you got during the battle,” or “the earrings you took as your war prize.”

For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites: Some versions think this sentence is parenthetical since it is not part of Gideon’s speech (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). However, it supplies very important information, that is, that the earrings were made of gold. There are two reason clauses here, both introduced by Hebrew particle ki. Revised Standard Version renders the first ki as For and the second one as because. In many languages these two clauses might be reversed, for example, “In fact, the enemies were Ishmaelites, so their earrings were made out of gold.”

They had golden earrings is literally “earrings of gold to them.” The pronoun they refers to the enemy soldiers. Many versions make this explicit by saying “the enemy” (New Revised Standard Version) or “The enemy soldiers” (Contemporary English Version). This is the first reference in the book to gold, a precious metal known throughout the world. This clause may be rendered “the enemy soldiers wore earrings made of gold.”

The word Ishmaelites causes a problem for translators, since it suddenly appears in a text that has been describing Israel’s victory over the Midianites. However, Ishmael and Midian, the ancestors of these groups, were both sons of Abraham (Gen 16.16; verse 25.2). These two names are used interchangeably in the Joseph story (see Gen 37.28) and seems to be the case here as well. Good News Translation uses the name “Midianites” here in order to avoid confusion, but it is also possible to keep Ishmaelites in the text and to explain their connection to the Midianites in a footnote, as in Contemporary English Version.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Gideon then said to the Israelites, “I have a special request. I would like each one of you to give me an earring that you took from the enemy.” He said this since the enemy soldiers were Ishmaelites and wore gold earrings.

• Then Gideon went on to say, “I am asking you just one thing. Each one of you should give me the earrings you seized as a war prize.” (In fact, the Ishmaelites* had the habit of wearing gold earrings.)
* Ishmaelites is an alternative name for Midianites. Ishmael and Midian were both sons of Abraham (see Gen 16.16; 25.2).

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 .