Hakim-hakim 2:2

2:2 but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.’ ¹  But you have disobeyed me. ²  Why would you do such a thing? ³ 

Hakim-hakim 2:15

2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, ⁴  the Lord did them harm, ⁵  just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. ⁶  They suffered greatly. ⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 2:20

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. ⁸  He said, “This nation ⁹  has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors ¹⁰  by disobeying me. ¹¹ 

Hakim-hakim 3:17

3:17 He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

Hakim-hakim 3:25

3:25 They waited so long they were embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. Finally they took the key and opened the doors. ¹²  Right before their eyes was their master, sprawled out dead on the floor! ¹³ 

Hakim-hakim 4:17

4:17 Now Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, for King Jabin of Hazor ¹⁴  and the family of Heber the Kenite had made a peace treaty. ¹⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 5:31

5:31 May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord!

But may those who love you shine

like the rising sun at its brightest!” ¹⁶ 

And the land had rest for forty years.

Hakim-hakim 6:3

6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ¹⁷  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ¹⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 6:10

6:10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship ¹⁹  the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living!” But you have disobeyed me.’” ²⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 6:22

6:22 When Gideon realized ²¹  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ²²  said, “Oh no! ²³  Master, Lord! ²⁴  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Hakim-hakim 6:30

6:30 The men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so we can execute him! ²⁵  He pulled down the Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.”

Hakim-hakim 6:33

Gideon Summons an Army and Seeks Confirmation

6:33 All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east ²⁶  assembled. They crossed the Jordan River ²⁷  and camped in the Jezreel Valley.

Hakim-hakim 7:14-16

7:14 The other man said, ²⁸  “Without a doubt this symbolizes ²⁹  the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ³⁰  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. ³¹  He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. ³² 

Hakim-hakim 7:23

7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. ³³ 

Hakim-hakim 8:18

8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me ³⁴  the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” ³⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 9:4

9:4 They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous ³⁶  men as his followers. ³⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 9:29

9:29 If only these men ³⁸  were under my command, ³⁹  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ⁴⁰  “Muster ⁴¹  your army and come out for battle!” ⁴² 

Hakim-hakim 11:3

11:3 So Jephthah left ⁴³  his half-brothers ⁴⁴  and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. ⁴⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 11:19

11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” ⁴⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 11:21

11:21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took ⁴⁷  all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land.

Hakim-hakim 11:25

11:25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? ⁴⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 12:2

12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. ⁴⁹  I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. ⁵⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 13:19

13:19 Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered them on a rock to the Lord. The Lord’s messenger did an amazing thing as Manoah and his wife watched. ⁵¹ 

Hakim-hakim 15:8

15:8 He struck them down and defeated them. ⁵²  Then he went down and lived for a time in the cave in the cliff of Etam.

Hakim-hakim 16:27

16:27 Now the temple ⁵³  was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.

Hakim-hakim 18:24

18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” ⁵⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 19:15

19:15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night ⁵⁵  in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. ⁵⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 19:27

19:27 When her master ⁵⁷  got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold.

Hakim-hakim 19:29

19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. ⁵⁸  Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. ⁵⁹ 

Hakim-hakim 20:3-4

20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!” 20:4 The Levite, ⁶⁰  the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in ⁶¹  Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ⁶²  to spend the night.

Hakim-hakim 20:36

20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated.

The Israelites retreated before ⁶³  Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah.

Hakim-hakim 20:40

20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. ⁶⁴ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “their altars.”

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “What is this you have done?”

[2:15]  ⁴ tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

[2:15]  ⁷ tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

[2:20]  ⁸ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.

[3:25]  ¹² tn The words “the doors” are supplied.

[3:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “See, their master, fallen to the ground, dead.”

[4:17]  ¹⁴ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[4:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for there was peace between.”

[5:31]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “But may those who love him be like the going forth of the sun in its strength.”

[6:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”

[6:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east would go up, they would go up against him.” The translation assumes that וְעָלוּ (vÿ’alu) is dittographic (note the following עָלָיו, ’alayv).

[6:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Do not fear.”

[6:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

[6:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ²² tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ²³ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[6:30]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and let him die.” The jussive form with vav after the imperative is best translated as a purpose clause.

[6:33]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east.”

[6:33]  ²⁷ tn The words “the Jordan River” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[7:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “answered and said.”

[7:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”

[7:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[7:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “heads.”

[7:16]  ³² tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:16]  sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze.

[7:23]  ³³ tn Heb “Midian.”

[8:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Where are?”

[8:18]  ³⁵ tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”

[9:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

[9:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they followed him.”

[9:29]  ³⁸ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ³⁹ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  sn If only these men were under my command. One might assume from v. 26b that the men were already at his disposal, but perhaps that was not one of the terms of the agreement. Another possibility is that v. 26 is a general summary statement, with vv. 27-29 then detailing how the alliance with Gaal came about.

[9:29]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ⁴² tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[11:3]  ⁴³ tn Or “fled from.”

[11:3]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “brothers.”

[11:3]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”

[11:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “to my place.”

[11:21]  ⁴⁷ tn That is, took as its own possession.

[11:25]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express in the translation.

[11:25]  sn Jephthah argues that the Ammonite king should follow the example of Balak, who, once thwarted in his attempt to bring a curse on Israel, refused to attack Israel and returned home (Num 22-24).

[12:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”

[12:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “hand.”

[13:19]  ⁵¹ tc Heb “Doing an extraordinary deed while Manoah and his wife were watching.” The subject of the participle is missing. The translation assumes that the phrase “the Lord’s messenger” was lost by homoioteleuton. If the text originally read לַיהוָה מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה (layhavah mal’akh yÿhvah), the scribe’s eye could have jumped from the first יְהוָה to the second, accidentally omitting two of the three words. Later the conjunction וּ (shureq) would have been added to the following מַפְלִא (mafli’) for syntactical reasons. Another possibility is that a pronominal subject (הוּא, hu’) has been lost in the MT due to haplography.

[15:8]  ⁵² tn Heb “He struck them, calf on thigh, [with] a great slaughter.” The precise meaning of the phrase “calf on thigh” is uncertain.

[16:27]  ⁵³ tn Heb “house.”

[18:24]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

[19:15]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “they turned aside there to enter to spend the night.”

[19:15]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he entered and sat down, and there was no one receiving them into the house to spend the night.”

[19:27]  ⁵⁷ tn The Hebrew term here translated “master,” is plural. The plural indicates degree here and emphasizes the Levite’s absolute sovereignty over the woman.

[19:29]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”

[19:29]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”

[20:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “The man, the Levite.”

[20:4]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “came to.”

[20:4]  ⁶² tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[20:36]  ⁶³ tn Heb “gave place to.”

[20:40]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “Benjamin turned after him and, look, the whole city went up toward the sky.”