This verse is rhythmic with its repetitive words and sounds (l, r, and v in Hebrew). The invaders came in vast numbers and thus devastated the land of Israel.

For they would come up with their cattle and their tents: This clause gives more detail about the Midianite invasion. It is introduced by the Hebrew conjunction ki rendered For, omitted in some versions (Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible). In some languages an emphatic expression such as “In fact” might be appropriate. The pronoun they refers to the same enemies mentioned in verse 6.3. Come up renders the same Hebrew verb as in 6.3, where it has the sense of attacking, but here that meaning does not seem to fit, since its subject is the invaders and their cattle. However, there could be a subtle play on words here, since even the animals did, in a sense, come to attack. The Hebrew term for cattle is a generic one, including various types of domesticated animals. We can say “livestock” or “herds.” The invaders also brought their tents. This detail may emphasize that the raiders did not just sweep through and destroy things, but actually came to stay and live off the land. New Revised Standard Version renders and their tents as “and they would even bring their tents,” which is an attempt to convey this emphasis. For tents see verse 4.17.

Coming like locusts for number is literally “and they came like an abundance of locusts for the large number.” It is a common Hebrew idiom describing hordes of people (see also verse 7.12; Psalm 105.34; Jer 46.23). This figure of speech is based on the experience of seeing masses of locusts coming to attack the crops. Locusts are grasshoppers that can arrive in mass and devour a whole field of ripe crops in a very short time. Here the imagery is meant to express the great numbers of attackers and the quick and complete devastation caused by them. There may be another tie between locusts and these invaders, since like the people of the East, locusts generally came from the eastern desert. Translators must reflect on how to best express this figurative language. In many languages it might be easier to start a new sentence at this point by saying “They came like a swarm of locusts.” Though the Hebrew verb rendered coming is different from the one translated come up, translators may use the same term. In English, for example, the word “descended” can be used for both swarms of insects and invaders. Besides the parallel of destructive behavior and perhaps noise, the other basis of comparison that needs to be expressed is the sheer numbers. The next clause emphasizes this fact even more. This clause may be rendered “Myriads of them descended like locusts” or “There were masses and masses of them, attacking like locusts.” New Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation say they came “as thick as locusts.” New American Bible takes “tents” as the item being compared by saying “and their tents would become as numerous as locusts,” but this is not the interpretation of the majority and should not be followed.

Both they and their camels could not be counted is literally “and for them and their camels, there was no number.” The word both does not occur in Hebrew but is an effective rendering of “them and their camels.” The pronoun they refers to the invading enemy rather than the locusts mentioned in the previous clause. If necessary, translators can say “the Midianites” or “the invaders.” Like the expression “the people of the East,” the word camel appears only in the Gideon episode (see also verse 7.12; verse 8.21, 26). Camels are a typical beast of burden in this region, since they have the advantage of being able to travel long distances with very little water. These animals permitted the Midianites to travel long distances, plundering and destroying on the way. Most languages have a way to say camel, but if not, a word can be borrowed from a major language or translators can use a descriptive expression, such as “horse with a hump.” Could not be counted is an idiomatic way of saying they were many. In many languages a literal translation of this phrase will be natural, while in others an ideophone might be used. Some African languages say “there were so many people and camels, one cannot say [or, it surpasses all].”

So that they wasted the land as they came in is literally “and they came in the land to destroy it.” This sentence is very brief and powerful, evoking a sense of finality and sadness. Two keywords reappear: land and wasted, which renders the same Hebrew verb as the one for “destroy” in verse 6.4. Translators should try to imitate the style and use the same verb in both verses. This verb should be a strong one, such as “devastate.” For the land (ʾerets in Hebrew), see verse 1.2. Each time an Israelite would hear this word, he would think of the Promised Land given by God. Revised Standard Version has reversed the order of the clauses here, but many languages may prefer the Hebrew order, which allows the emphasis to fall on the word “destroy.” The effect of so many people and animals invading the land was that they literally stripped the land of all its resources. They seem to have literally turned the land into a wasteland or a desert. Came renders the same Hebrew verb as the one translated coming.

Translation models for this verse are:

• They came with their livestock and their tents, invading the land like a plague of locusts! There were so many of them and their camels, you could not count them. They [totally] devastated the land.

• They would come with all their animals, carrying their tents. They attacked the land like swarms of grasshoppers. They and their camels were so many, you could not say! They kept coming and coming and destroyed the land.

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 .