This sentence is complex because the “if” clause is embedded within the “lest” clause, and both of them are subordinate to the main clause. It can be simplified by making it two sentences, as Good News Translation has done. Note that Good News Translation also interchanges the clauses, placing the main clause as the second sentence. It is also possible to put the equivalent of “So” or “Therefore” here and say “So we must….” In languages where subordinate clauses must always precede the main clause, Good News Translation‘s model is a good one.

Come in Revised Standard Version reflects a word in the Hebrew that expresses urgency, such as the English expression “Come on!” It increases the force of let us …, which here means “We must” (Good News Translation). To deal shrewdly with them means to “find some way” (Good News Translation), or “devise a plan,” to prevent the Israelites from having so many children. It includes the idea that the Egyptians wanted both to “be prudent” (Jerusalem Bible) and to “take precautions” (New English Bible) to prevent this population increase.

Lest they multiply is quite literal from the Hebrew. New Revised Standard Version has made this a bit clearer: “or they will increase.” The Translator’s Old Testament) has “We must act astutely and prevent their becoming too numerous.” The expression really means “If we don’t outsmart them, their families will keep growing larger” (Contemporary English Version). This clause may be placed at the end of the verse, as Good News Translation has done.

The phrase if war befall us is based on a variant form of the Hebrew text. Literally the Hebrew says “if war happen,” an awkward combination of a singular subject with a plural verb. It may be easier to say “if our enemies attack us” or “if those who hate us attack us.” The meaning is also clearly rendered with “In case of war” (Good News Translation), or “if war breaks out” (New English Bible), or “in the event of war”. They join our enemies and fight against us may also be expressed as “they could easily fight on the side of our enemies” (Good News Translation).

The footnote in Good News Translation points out that the Hebrew can mean either escape from the land or “take control of the country.” The literal “rise up from the earth” is ambiguous. The idea that “they will become masters of the country” (New English Bible) is possible, but most translations understand it in terms of escape. Since Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation both interpret the Hebrew in this way, it is best to translate “escape from the country” (Good News Translation) and place a footnote that shows the other possible meaning.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• If our enemies attack us, the Israelites might join with these enemies and fight against us. As a result they may escape from Egypt. So we must find [or, make] a plan to prevent them from having so many children.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .