Judges 3:8

3:8 The Lord was furious with Israel¹ and turned them over to² King Cushan-Rishathaim³ of Aram-Naharaim. They were Cushan-Rishathaim’s subjects⁴ for eight years.

Judges 6:25

Gideon Destroys the Altar

6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old.⁵ Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.

Judges 11:37

11:37 She then said to her father, “Please grant me this one wish.⁶ For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.”⁷

Judges 11:39

11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin.⁸ Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel.⁹

Judges 12:9

12:9 He had thirty sons. He arranged for thirty of his daughters to be married outside his extended family,¹⁰ and he arranged for thirty young women to be brought from outside as wives for his sons.¹¹ Ibzan¹² led¹³ Israel for seven years;

Judges 21:10

21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors¹⁴ against Jabesh Gilead.¹⁵ They commanded them, “Go and kill with your swords¹⁶ the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children.

¹tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned (or raged) against Israel.”

²tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

³tn Or “Cushan the Doubly Wicked.”

⁴tn Or “they served Cushan-Rishathaim.”

⁵tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.

⁹tn Heb “Let this thing be done for me.”

¹⁰tn Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”

¹³tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

¹⁴tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

¹⁷tn Heb “thirty daughters he sent off outside.” Another option is to translate, “He arranged for his thirty daughters…” It is not clear if he had more than the “thirty daughters” mentioned in the text.

¹⁸tn Heb “and thirty daughters he brought for his sons from the outside.”

¹⁹tn Heb “He”; the referent (Ibzan) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for English stylistic reasons.

²⁰tn Traditionally, “judged.”

²¹tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

²²tn Heb “there.”

²³tn Heb “the edge of the sword.”