Hakim-hakim 2:3

2:3 At that time I also warned you, ¹  ‘If you disobey, ²  I will not drive out the Canaanites ³  before you. They will ensnare you ⁴  and their gods will lure you away.’” ⁵ 

Hakim-hakim 2:22

2:22 Joshua left those nations ⁶  to test ⁷  Israel. I wanted to see ⁸  whether or not the people ⁹  would carefully walk in the path ¹⁰  marked out by ¹¹  the Lord, as their ancestors ¹²  were careful to do.”

Hakim-hakim 6:1

Oppression and Confrontation

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, ¹³  so the Lord turned them over to ¹⁴  Midian for seven years.

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 ¹⁵  men as his followers. ¹⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 9:33

9:33 In the morning at sunrise quickly attack the city. When he and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to him.” ¹⁷ 

Hakim-hakim 13:1

Samson’s Birth

13:1 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight, ¹⁸  so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines for forty years.

Hakim-hakim 14:4

14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ¹⁹  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ²⁰  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

Hakim-hakim 18:18

18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ²¹  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

Hakim-hakim 19:2

19:2 However, she ²²  got angry at him ²³  and went home ²⁴  to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months,

Hakim-hakim 20:34

20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah – the battle was fierce. ²⁵  But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. ²⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 21:7

21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? ²⁷  After all, we took an oath in the Lord’s name not to give them our daughters as wives.”

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.

[2:3]  ² tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See Josh 23:12-13.

[2:3]  ³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Canaanites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צִדִּים (tsiddim) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense here. On the basis of Num 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If this word is added, the text would read, “they will become [thorns] in your sides” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the present translation) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [’azav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)

[2:22]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:22]  ⁸ tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22]  ¹¹ tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22]  ¹² tn Or “fathers.”

[6:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[6:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[9:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “empty and reckless.”

[9:4]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they followed him.”

[9:33]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”

[13:1]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[14:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[18:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[19:2]  ²² tn Heb “and his concubine.” The pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[19:2]  ²³ tn Or “was unfaithful to him.” Many have understood the Hebrew verb וַתִּזְנֶה (vattizneh) as being from זָנָה (zanah, “to be a prostitute”), but it may be derived from a root meaning “to be angry; to hate” attested in Akkadian (see HALOT 275 s.v. II זנה).

[19:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “went from him.”

[20:34]  ²⁵ tn Heb “heavy”; or “severe.”

[20:34]  ²⁶ tn Heb “And they did not know that touching against them was disaster.”

[21:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “What should we do for them, for the remaining ones, concerning wives?”