Judges 18:5

18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ¹  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ² 

Judges 18:7

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ³  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ⁴  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ⁵  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ⁶  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁷ 

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Ask God.”

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”

[18:7]  ³ tn Or “went.”

[18:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

[18:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

[18:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

[18:7]  ⁷ tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.