So the two men sat and ate and drank together is literally “And they sat down and they ate, the two of them together, and they drank.” So renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction here. The two men refers to the Levite and his father-in-law. Once again their strong relationship is in focus. If possible, translators should find an appropriate equivalent for the literal phrase “the two of them together” to highlight their companionship. For ate and drank, see verse 19.4. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “feasted” here, but this is certainly not appropriate in this context.

And the girl’s father said to the man: See the comments on verse 19.3.

Be pleased to spend the night: This request from the young woman’s father is a very polite one in Hebrew, literally “Be willing please and spend the night.” Spend the night renders the same Hebrew verb translated “lodged” in verse 19.4 (see comments there). After such a big meal, it is possible that it was already late in the day. New International Version‘s “Please stay tonight” is one possibility, or we might rather use a question, such as “Why not spend the night…?” (Revised English Bible), “Won’t you stay overnight…?” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “Why not decide to spend the night here…?” (New American Bible).

And let your heart be merry is literally “and let your heart be good.” If the Levite were to remain in Bethlehem for another night, his father-in-law thinks he would really enjoy himself by eating and drinking more. In Hebrew this clause is expressed as a wish, but in many languages a question may be more appropriate (see second model below). As in verse 19.5, the word heart represents the person, but here it also refers to the seat of emotions since joy is in view. If a person’s heart is merry, that person is happy. In many languages this clause can be added to what precedes, for example, “Won’t you stay overnight and enjoy yourself?” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In most languages a command form would not be acceptable here in this extremely polite exchange between these two men.

Translation models for this verse are:

• So the two men sat eating and drinking together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please stay another night and enjoy yourself.”

• So the two of them, the Levite and the girl’s father, ate and drank together. Then the father said to his son-in-law, “Why don’t you stay another night and [you can] enjoy yourself here.”

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 .