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 20:9

20:9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. ⁶ 

[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.

[20:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “against her by lot.” The verb “we will go up” (נַעֲלֶה, na’aleh) has probably been accidentally omitted before “against her” (עָלֶיהָ, ’aleha).