Judges 10:16

10:16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned¹ and worshiped² the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much.³

Judges 1:34

1:34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in⁴ the coastal plain.

Judges 2:23

2:23 This is why⁵ the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately;⁶ he did not hand them over to Joshua.

Judges 10:9

10:9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.⁷ Israel suffered greatly.⁸

Judges 2:15

2:15 Whenever they went out to fight,⁹ the Lord did them harm,¹⁰ just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do.¹¹ They suffered greatly.¹²

Judges 16:26

16:26 Samson said to the young man who held his hand, “Position me so I can touch the pillars that support the temple.¹³ Then I can lean on them.”

Judges 3:28

3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!”¹⁴ They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River¹⁵ opposite Moab,¹⁶ and did not let anyone cross.

Judges 2:18

2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people¹⁷ from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them¹⁸ when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them.¹⁹

Judges 15:1

Samson Versus the Philistines

15:1 Sometime later, during the wheat harvest,²⁰ Samson took a young goat as a gift and went to visit his bride.²¹ He said to her father,²² “I want to have sex with my bride in her bedroom!”²³ But her father would not let him enter.

¹tn Heb “from their midst.”

²tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

³tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).

⁴tn Heb “come down into.”

⁷tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.

⁸tn Or “quickly.”

¹⁰tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”

¹¹tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”

¹³tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

¹⁴tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

¹⁵tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

¹⁶tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

¹⁶tn Heb “the pillars upon which the house is founded.”

¹⁹tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

²⁰tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

²¹tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

²²tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

²⁴tn 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.

²⁵sn The wheat harvest took place during the month of May. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 37, 88.

²⁶tn Heb “Samson visited his wife with a young goat.”

²⁷tn The words “to her father” are supplied in the translation (see the end of the verse).

²⁸tn Heb “I will go to my wife in the bedroom.” The Hebrew idiom בּוֹא אֶל (bo’ ’el, “to go to”) often has sexual connotations. The cohortative form used by Samson can be translated as indicating resolve (“I want to go”) or request (“let me go”).