And the old man said: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may be translated “Then.” The narrator is careful to distinguish the two primary male participants, the Levite and the old man, and also seems to emphasize through this repetition the fact that this man is old. This may be an important detail for what follows, when the old man seems powerless. Here he responds with kindness to the Levite’s proposal. The general verb said may be rendered “answered” or “replied.”

Peace be to you renders the traditional greeting in Hebrew, literally “Peace [shalom] to you” (compare verse 6.23). However, this is not an initial greeting here, so probably the old man is trying to put the Levite at ease. Thus we might rather say “Rest easy” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “You are welcome in my home!” (Good News Translation). Other possible models are “That’s alright” and “Don’t worry about that.” Translators should look for an expression that is natural in their language in such a context.

I will care for all your wants; only, do not spend the night in the square: The old man states two conditions for receiving the Levite, both beginning with the Hebrew word raq (“only”), literally:

Only all your want [is] upon me.
Only in the square do not spend the night.

I will care for all your wants: The old man is taking exception to what the Levite is saying. He does not want the Levite to squander his supplies, which he may need on his further journey, so he graciously offers to supply all the travelers’ needs. We might say “But please, let me supply everything you need” or “But please, I insist, I will be the one to provide all that you need.” The old man’s speech is extremely polite and translators should try to capture this tone.

Only, do not spend the night in the square: In Hebrew the fronting of the phrase “in the square” hints at the dangers of staying outside overnight in this town. For the Hebrew verb rendered spend the night (lin), see verse 19.4. This verb is singular in Hebrew, so it is addressed directly to the Levite. It was customary for someone to address the head of a group of travelers, which is the Levite here. However, in some languages a plural verb may be needed in this context. For square see verse 19.15. This clause may be rendered “Only please don’t stay overnight in the town square” or “But please, you [plural] should not spend the night out in the square.”

Translation models for this verse are:

• Then the old man replied, “Don’t worry. I’ll look after you and give you everything you need. You can spend the night in my home. Only please, don’t spend the night in the town square.”

• Then the old man said, “That’s alright. I will provide you with all you need. Just don’t stay out in the town square all night.”

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 .