They stood every man in his place round about the camp: This clause begins with a Hebrew waw conjunction, which is not rendered in Revised Standard Version and many other versions. They probably omit it because this clause gives some background information, describing how the Israelites had circled the Midianite camp. The conjunction “Now” would be appropriate here. The pronoun They refers to the Israelite warriors. Since they are also the subject of the previous clause, this pronoun reference will probably be understood. They stood every man in his place means the Israelites stood straight and still with courage. They were seriously outnumbered, but each Israelite soldier “stood his ground,” waiting for the LORD to act, not crouching, hiding, or running away. This is in direct contrast to the Midianites, who panicked and fled. New International Version says “each man held his position.”
The Hebrew phrase rendered round about the camp is similar to the one translated “on every side of all the camp” in verse 7.18. Evidently the 300 Israelite soldiers had circled the Midianite camp.
And all the army ran: All the army is literally “all the camp,” which refers to the whole Midianite army. Good News Translation says “the whole enemy army,” and New International Version has “all the Midianites.” Ran describes the reaction of the Midianite soldiers when they heard the trumpets blowing and the jars breaking and they saw the torches shining. Good News Translation says “ran away.” Though a few versions emend the Hebrew verb here to read “woke up” or “jumped up” (Revised English Bible “leapt up”), Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an {A} rating to the Hebrew text followed here by Revised Standard Version. We could also say “began to run in all directions.”
They cried out and fled also describes the Midianites. The verb for ran is singular in Hebrew since the army is the subject, but the verbs for cried out and fled are plural. All these verbs refer to the same Midianite army. Translators should use verb forms that are appropriate in their language. Cried out renders a Hebrew verb that has many meanings. In other contexts it can express a cry of joy or even a cry of victory over one’s enemies. However, here it refers to a cry of alarm or terror, so it may be rendered “cried out in terror.” Fled renders a key Hebrew verb (nus) in the book of Judges (see comments on verse 1.6). This verb also occurs in the next verse. Using the same verb here will help preserve the literary link that exists among all these passages. Fleeing is a sign of defeat but also of cowardice, so this is the storyteller’s way of making fun of Israel’s enemies. In some languages an ideophone or an additional clause can express the tone. For example, translators might say “they ran around fleeing every which way.” Good News Translation combines ran and fled into one verb: “and the whole enemy army ran away yelling.” Translators should look for effective ways to express this very dramatic scene.
Some translation models for this verse are:
• The Israelites stood, each man in his position, surrounding the camp, while all the Midianites ran about, crying in terror and fleeing.
• They stood, every man at his post, as they encircled the Midianite camp. But the Midianite soldiers ran around, crying in alarm. Then they all fled.
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 .