Hakim-hakim 2:16-19

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ¹  who delivered them from these robbers. ²  2:17 But they did not obey ³  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ⁴  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ⁵  their ancestors ⁶  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ⁷  2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people ⁸  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them ⁹  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. ¹⁰  2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ¹¹  would again ¹²  act more wickedly than the previous one. ¹³  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ¹⁴  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ¹⁵  their practices or their stubborn ways.

Hakim-hakim 6:1-7

Oppression and Confrontation

6:1 The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, ¹⁶  so the Lord turned them over to ¹⁷  Midian for seven years. 6:2 The Midianites ¹⁸  overwhelmed Israel. ¹⁹  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ²⁰  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds. 6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ²¹  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ²²  6:4 They invaded the land ²³  and devoured ²⁴  its crops ²⁵  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ²⁶  and they took away ²⁷  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys. 6:5 When they invaded ²⁸  with their cattle and tents, they were as thick ²⁹  as locusts. Neither they nor their camels could be counted. ³⁰  They came to devour ³¹  the land. 6:6 Israel was so severely weakened by Midian that the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

6:7 When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help because of Midian,

[2:16]  ¹ tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”

[2:16]  ² tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[2:17]  ³ tn Or “did not listen to.”

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Or “bowed before.”

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:17]  ⁶ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁹ tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.

[2:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ¹² tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.

[2:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “their fathers.”

[2:19]  sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).

[2:19]  ¹⁴ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19]  ¹⁵ tn Or “drop.”

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[6:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “gave them into the hand of.”

[6:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

[6:2]  ²⁰ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

[6:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “Whenever Israel sowed seed.”

[6:3]  ²² 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).

[6:4]  ²³ tn Heb “They encamped against them.”

[6:4]  ²⁴ tn Heb “destroyed.”

[6:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the crops of the land.”

[6:4]  ²⁶ tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”

[6:4]  ²⁷ tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “came up.”

[6:5]  ²⁹ tn Heb “numerous.”

[6:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “To them and to their camels there was no number.”

[6:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “destroy.” The translation “devour” carries through the imagery of a locust plague earlier in this verse.