Judges 6:15

6:15 Gideon ¹  said to him, “But Lord, ²  how ³  can I deliver Israel? Just look! My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my family.” ⁴ 

Judges 6:13

6:13 Gideon said to him, “Pardon me, ⁵  but if the Lord is with us, why has such disaster ⁶  overtaken us? Where are all his miraculous deeds our ancestors told us about? They said, ⁷  ‘Did the Lord not bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to Midian.”

Judges 13:8

13:8 Manoah prayed to the Lord, ⁸  “Please, Lord, allow the man sent from God ⁹  to visit ¹⁰  us again, so he can teach ¹¹  us how we should raise ¹²  the child who will be born.”

¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Note the switch to אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “Lord”). Gideon seems aware that he is speaking to someone other than, and superior to, the messenger, whom he addressed as אֲדֹנִי (’adoniy, “my lord”) in v. 13.

³ tn Heb “with what.”

⁴ tn Heb “in my father’s house.”

⁵ tn Heb “But my lord.”

⁶ tn Heb “all this.”

⁷ tn Heb “saying.”

⁹ tn The Hebrew text adds “and said.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the man of God.”

¹¹ tn Heb “come to.”

¹² tc The LXX has “enlighten,” understanding the Hebrew to read וִיאִירֵנוּ (vi’irenu, “to give light”) rather than the reading of the MT, וְיוֹרֵנוּ (vÿyorenu, “to teach”).

¹³ tn Heb “what we should do for.”