And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise: Gideon gives his warriors instructions, though he does not immediately reveal what his plan is. Look at me, and do likewise is literally “From me you will see and thus you will do.” It is nighttime so one wonders what exactly the warriors will be able to see. As the next verse shows, they are to respond to the sound of the trumpet, so Look at me may be rendered “Pay close attention!” And do likewise asks the men to follow Gideon’s example. We can say “do as I do.” New International Version translates dynamically with “Follow my lead.”

When I come to the outskirts of the camp is literally “and behold I am going to the outskirts of the camp.” This clause begins with the Hebrew word hinneh (“behold”), which is not rendered in Revised Standard Version and most other English versions. Here hinneh seems to show the urgency of the situation but may also be a call to “listen carefully.” For the outskirts of the camp, see verse 7.11. The camp refers to the Midianite camp, not the Israelite one, so Contemporary English Version says “the enemy camp.” Possible models are “As soon as I get to the edge of the enemy camp” and “Listen! I am going to the edge of the Midianite camp. When I get there.”

Do as I do is literally “as I do, thus you do.” Revised English Bible renders the emphasis here well with “do exactly as I do.” This clause is similar to and do likewise. Some versions reduce the two similar clauses to one (so Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Revised English Bible), which is acceptable in some languages, but runs the danger of losing some of the impact and urgency expressed here.

Good News Translation reverses the order of the clauses in Gideon’s speech here by saying “When I get to the edge of the camp, watch me, and do what I do.” This model may be more natural in many languages.

What is not yet made clear in the instructions is that Gideon’s men are to surround the Midianite camp before they do what he does. The next verse clarifies this. This is probably why Contemporary English Version has chosen to combine this verse and the next one as follows: “Gideon said, ‘When we get to the enemy camp, spread out and surround it. Then wait for me to blow a signal on my trumpet. As soon as you hear it, blow your trumpets and shout….’ ” This is one way to render this passage, but the storyteller seems to purposely keep the audience in suspense concerning Gideon’s strategy.

Translation models for this verse are:

• He told them, “Pay attention, and do what I do. When I reach the edge of the enemy camp, do exactly as I do.

• Then Gideon said to his men, “Watch me. When I get to the edge of the Midianite camp, do what I do.

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 .