Gideon orders his oldest son Jether to execute the two Midianite kings. In ancient Israel avenging the murder of a family member was a serious responsibility (see Num 35.19-21; Deut 19.11-12). Gideon wants his oldest son to fulfill this obligation on behalf of the family.

And he said to Jether his first-born: The scene is not fully described here, but it is obvious that the two captive kings are standing in front of Gideon and his men, including his oldest son Jether. In this context the general verb said may be rendered “commanded,” “ordered,” or “gave the order.” Hebrew has a special term for the first-born son, and so do many other languages. In numerous cultures around the world, the firstborn son has special responsibilities and privileges. Here Gideon may be trying to bestow honor on his firstborn son. Up till now, no mention has been made of the fact that Gideon has children and that his oldest son Jether had accompanied him to battle. The appearance of this information adds to the element of surprise in this story. If this style is too abrupt, translators may render this clause as “At that time Jether, Gideon’s oldest son, was standing there, and Gideon ordered him.”

Rise, and slay them: Rise, which renders the key Hebrew verb qum, is used once again at a crucial point in the narration, as an Israelite is called upon to kill the enemies of Israel (see comments on verse 4.14, where this verb is translated “Up!”). In this context the verb does not necessarily mean “stand up” or “get up,” but rather is a call of action: “Go ahead” (Good News Translation), “Go on,” or simply “Go” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Contemporary English Version and New International Version do not translate this verb, but simply render this whole sentence as “Kill them!” It may be necessary to add a vocative, such as “Jether” or “My son,” if this is the natural way to give orders in some languages. For slay see verse 8.19. The pronoun them refers to the two Midianite kings.

But the youth did not draw his sword: But is an effective rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction, since it introduces a counter-expectation here. The Hebrew word rendered youth is the same one translated “young man” in verse 8.14, often used to refer to men of fighting age (see comments there). The term appears twice in this verse, certainly to emphasize the fact that Jether was too young to carry out such an act. For did not draw his sword, see the comments on verse 8.10. These words have more than their literal meaning, as they imply that he “refused to kill them.” Though many young men are courageous, in this story both the young man from Succoth (verse 8.14) and even Gideon’s son show signs of fear or weakness. In the first case the youth is coerced into denouncing his own people. Here Gideon’s son is called upon to avenge his family’s honor, but he hesitates to act. Some may see this hesitation as a reflection of Gideon’s own character (verse 6.15), though the next sentence implies he hesitated due to his young age.

For he was afraid, because he was still a youth: The Hebrew connector ki (rendered for and because) introduces two propositions in this sentence, and both appear to introduce a reason. The young man did not kill the Midianite kings because he was afraid, and he was afraid because he was still a youth. Like his father Gideon before him (verse 6.27), Jether is afraid. Translators will have to decide how to render these two connectors, since in many languages two identical conjunctions in a row will be unnatural. One possibility is to retain for or “because” before the first proposition and leave the second ki untranslated or render it in another way, for example, “But he did not draw his sword because he was afraid. Indeed, he was still a youth.” He was afraid can be expressed by an idiomatic expression such as “fear was hitting/killing him.” He was still a youth can be expressed as “he was still/so young.” In some languages it may be better to rearrange the clauses, as in Contemporary English Version: “But Jether was young, and he was too afraid to even pull out his sword.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then Gideon commanded his oldest son Jether, “Execute them!” But he did not [even] take out his sword because he was afraid. Indeed, he was still very young.

• Then Gideon said to Jether, his firstborn, “Jether, go ahead, kill them!” But Jether refused, because he was still only a boy and was afraid.

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 .