complete verse (Judges 3:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 3:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “So, the people of Israel lived together with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In this way the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore the Israelinhon lived-together with the Canaanhon, Hithanon, Amornon, Periznon, Hivhanon, and Jebusnon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The Israelis lived among the Canaan people-group, the Hiv people-group, the Amor people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Judges 3:5

This second list of foreign peoples adds more names and emphasizes the fact that the Israelites lived among people who did not serve the LORD. This is part of the important background leading up to the judges’ episodes.

So the people of Israel dwelt among …: So renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction, since it introduces a summary statement here. For the people of Israel, see verse 1.1. The Hebrew verb for dwelt means “inhabit” or “live” (see verse 1.9), though Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh emphasize the fact that the Israelites “settled” there. The preposition among seems crucial, since it was this cohabitation that provoked the LORD’s anger (see verse 1.29). Contemporary English Version changes the word order in this sentence to say that these other peoples “lived all around them [the Israelites],” perhaps trying to express the idea that the Israelites are surrounded.

For the Canaanites, see verse 1.1; the Hittites, verse 1.26; the Amorites, verse 1.34; the Perizzites, verse 1.4; the Hivites, verse 3.3; and the Jebusites, verse 1.21. There seems to be no importance to the order here, though it is worth noting that the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of Jerusalem, are listed last.

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 .