Then they journeyed through the wilderness: Since there is a change of location here, some versions begin a new paragraph (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible). Then renders the Hebrew waw conjunction. Since some time has passed, we could also say “Later,” “Sometime later,” or “After that.” The pronoun they is literally “he,” referring to Israel, but most languages will use a plural pronoun here as in Revised Standard Version. If translators begin a new paragraph here, it may be better to be more explicit by saying “the Israelites” (Contemporary English Version) or “the people of Israel.” Journeyed renders the same Hebrew verb translated “went” in verse 11.16. For wilderness see verse 11.16.

And went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab: Because the Edomites and the Moabites would not allow the Israelites to pass through their territories, the Israelites had to go around them, making their journey more difficult and much longer. They had to travel to the east of these territories on the edge of the desert, which the next clause makes clear. Went around may be rendered “skirted” (New International Version) or “bypassed” (similarly New American Bible). It may be possible to reduce the lengthy phrase the land of Edom and the land of Moab: “the territories of Edom and Moab.” However, since there is emphasis on the word land in this section (see verse 11.12), this wording can be maintained if possible.

And arrived on the east side of the land of Moab is literally “and he came from [the] rising of [the] sun to the land of Moab,” which means the Israelites approached the Moabite territory from the eastern side. The words for east and “west” in many languages are often descriptive expressions linked with the sun rising and setting (see verse 1.9). The word land comes to the forefront yet again.

And camped on the other side of the Arnon: For the Hebrew verb rendered camped, see verse 6.4, where it is translated “encamped.” As noted in verse 11.13, the Arnon River flows from the desert in the east toward the Dead Sea in the west. It formed the border between the Ammonites and the Moabites. The phrase on the other side means the side opposite Moabite territory.

The first half of this verse may be rendered as follows:

• “Later the Israelites traveled through the wilderness passing to the east of Edom and Moab. They reached the eastern border of Moab and camped near/by the Arnon River.

But they did not enter the territory of Moab …: Though some versions omit the Hebrew waw conjunction at the beginning of this clause, Revised Standard Version expresses it well with the contrastive connector but. The Israelites traveled up to Moab’s border and stopped. They did not go into Moab. Territory and boundary render the same Hebrew word, so there is emphasis on it. We might say “They did not cross the border into Moabite country” or “But they were careful to not go into the territory belonging to the Moabites.”

For the Arnon was the boundary of Moab: This clause gives a geographical note about Moab, saying that the Arnon River was part of its boundary. For renders the Hebrew particle ki, which may be translated “because” (Good News Translation) or “since” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In some languages this clause may be placed before the previous one, for example, “Since the Arnon River formed the Moabite boundary, they did not cross it into Moabite territory.” Another possible model is “They did not go into Moabite territory, whose border was the Arnon River.”

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 .