Judges 2:19

2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ¹  would again ²  act more wickedly than the previous one. ³  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ⁴  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ⁵  their practices or their stubborn ways.

Judges 5:11

5:11 Hear ⁶  the sound of those who divide the sheep ⁷  among the watering places;

there they tell of ⁸  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ⁹  in Israel.

Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates –

Judges 11:2

11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave ¹⁰  him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, ¹¹  because you are another woman’s son.”

Judges 16:19

16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap ¹²  and then called a man in to shave off ¹³  the seven braids of his hair. ¹⁴  She made him vulnerable ¹⁵  and his strength left him.

[2:19]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19]  ² tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.

[2:19]  ³ tn Heb “their fathers.”

[2:19]  ⁴ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19]  ⁵ tn Or “drop.”

[5:11]  ⁶ tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:11]  ⁷ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain. Some translate “those who distribute the water” (HALOT 344 s.v. חצץ pi). For other options see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 246-47.

[5:11]  ⁸ tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

[5:11]  ⁹ tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.

[11:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “bore.”

[11:2]  ¹² tn Heb “in the house of our father.”

[16:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT 160-61 s.v. בֶּרֶךְ.

[16:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.

[16:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.

[16:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.