Hakim-hakim 2:7

2:7 The people worshiped ¹  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ²  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ³  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 2:19

2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ⁵  would again ⁶  act more wickedly than the previous one. ⁷  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ⁸  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ⁹  their practices or their stubborn ways.

Hakim-hakim 5:24

5:24 The most rewarded ¹⁰  of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!

She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.

Hakim-hakim 8:2

8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes ¹¹  are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! ¹² 

Hakim-hakim 9:2

9:2 “Tell ¹³  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ¹⁴  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ¹⁵ 

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? ¹⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 14:8

14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry ¹⁷  her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw ¹⁸  a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey.

Hakim-hakim 14:18

14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer, ¹⁹ 

you would not have solved my riddle!”

Hakim-hakim 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ²⁰  you absolutely despised ²¹  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ²² 

Hakim-hakim 16:30

16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ²³  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ²⁴ 

Hakim-hakim 18:19

18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser ²⁵  and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” ²⁶ 

Hakim-hakim 18:26

18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ²⁷  they were too strong to resist, ²⁸  he turned around and went home.

[2:7]  ¹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

[2:7]  ² tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

[2:7]  ³ tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

[2:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19]  ⁹ tn Or “drop.”

[5:24]  ¹⁰ tn Or “blessed.”

[8:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “gleanings.”

[8:2]  ¹² sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.

[9:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

[9:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

[9:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

[11:25]  ¹⁶ 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).

[14:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “get.”

[14:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”

[14:18]  ¹⁹ sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

[15:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[15:2]  ²² tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

[16:30]  ²³ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ²⁴ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”

[18:19]  ²⁵ tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

[18:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”

[18:26]  ²⁷ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”