6:26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master, O king!” 6:27 He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” 1 6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’
29:12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the orphan who 2 had no one to assist him;
29:13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me, 3
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice; 4
29:14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me, 5
my just dealing 6 was like a robe and a turban;
1 tn Heb “From where can I help you, from the threshing floor or the winepress?” The rhetorical question expresses the king’s frustration. He has no grain or wine to give to the masses.
2 tn The negative introduces a clause that serves as a negative attribute; literally the following clause says, “and had no helper” (see GKC 482 §152.u).
3 tn The verb is simply בּוֹא (bo’, “to come; to enter”). With the preposition עַל (’al, “upon”) it could mean “came to me,” or “came upon me,” i.e., descended (see R. Gordis, Job, 320).
4 tn The verb אַרְנִן (’arnin) is from רָנַן (ranan, “to give a ringing cry”) but here “cause to give a ringing cry,” i.e., shout of joy. The rejoicing envisioned in this word is far greater than what the words “sing” or “rejoice” suggest.
5 tn Both verbs in this first half-verse are from לָבַשׁ (lavash, “to clothe; to put on clothing”). P. Joüon changed the vowels to get a verb “it adorned me” instead of “it clothed me” (Bib 11 [1930]: 324). The figure of clothing is used for the character of the person: to wear righteousness is to be righteous.
6 tn The word מִשְׁפָּטִי (mishpati) is simply “my justice” or “my judgment.” It refers to the decisions he made in settling issues, how he dealt with other people justly.
7 sn This widow was not necessarily old, since many people lived only into their thirties in the 1st century.
8 tn Or “town.”
9 tn This is an iterative imperfect; the widow did this on numerous occasions.
10 tn Grk “And for.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
11 tn Grk “after these things.”
12 tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.
13 tn The term ὑπωπιάζω (Jupwpiazw) in this context means “to wear someone out by continual annoying” (L&N 25.245).
14 tn Grk “by her continual coming,” but the point of annoyance to the judge is her constant pleas for justice (v. 3).