Judges 1:2

1:2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead. ¹  Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.” ² 

Judges 7:9

Gideon Reassured of Victory

7:9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, ³  “Get up! Attack ⁴  the camp, for I am handing it over to you. ⁵ 

Judges 7:2

7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. ⁶  Israel might brag, ⁷  ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ ⁸ 

Judges 20:17

20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. ⁹ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Judah should go up.”

[1:2]  ² tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (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.”

[7:9]  ³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “Go down against.”

[7:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise.

[7:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

[7:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

[7:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

[20:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man of war.”