Judges 2:4

2:4 When the Lord’s messenger finished speaking these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. ¹ 

Judges 5:11

5:11 Hear ²  the sound of those who divide the sheep ³  among the watering places;

there they tell of ⁴  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ⁵  in Israel.

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

Judges 5:14

5:14 They came from Ephraim, who uprooted Amalek, ⁶ 

they follow ⁷  after you, Benjamin, with your soldiers.

From Makir leaders came down,

from Zebulun came ⁸  the ones who march carrying ⁹  an officer’s staff.

Judges 7:6

7:6 Three hundred men lapped; ¹⁰  the rest of the men ¹¹  kneeled to drink water.

Judges 9:29

9:29 If only these men ¹²  were under my command, ¹³  I would get rid of Abimelech!” He challenged Abimelech, ¹⁴  “Muster ¹⁵  your army and come out for battle!” ¹⁶ 

Judges 9:35

9:35 When Gaal son of Ebed came out and stood at the entrance to the city’s gate, Abimelech and his men got up from their hiding places.

Judges 9:37

9:37 Gaal again said, “Look, men are coming down from the very center ¹⁷  of the land. A unit ¹⁸  is coming by way of the Oak Tree of the Diviners.” ¹⁹ 

Judges 11:20

11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He ²⁰  assembled his whole army, ²¹  camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.

Judges 12:2

12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites. ²²  I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power. ²³ 

Judges 18:20

18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ²⁴ 

Judges 20:8

20:8 All Israel rose up in unison ²⁵  and said, “Not one of us will go home! ²⁶  Not one of us will return ²⁷  to his house!

Judges 20:16

20:16 Among this army ²⁸  were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. ²⁹  Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. ³⁰ 

Judges 20:22

20:22 The Israelite army ³¹  took heart ³²  and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before.

Judges 21:2

21:2 So the people came to Bethel ³³  and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. ³⁴ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Heb “lifted their voices and wept.”

[5:11]  ² tn The word “Hear” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:11]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

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

[5:14]  ³ tn Heb “From Ephraim their root in Amalek” (the words “they came” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons). Because of the difficulty of the MT, many prefer to follow one of the ancient versions or emend the text. For various proposals see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 252-53. The present translation repoints שָׁרְשָׁם (shorsham, traditionally translated “their root”) as a Piel verb form with enclitic mem (ם). The preposition ב (bet) on עֲמָלֵק (’amaleq) introduces the object (see Job 31:12 for an example of the construction). Ephraim’s territory encompassed the hill country of the Amalekites (Judg 12:15).

[5:14]  ⁴ tn The words “They follow” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ⁵ tn The word “came” is supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[5:14]  ⁶ tn Or possibly “who carry.”

[7:6]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew text adds, “with their hands to their mouths,” This makes no sense in light of v. 5, which distinguishes between dog-like lappers (who would not use their hands to drink) and those who kneel (who would use their hands). It seems likely that the words “with their hands to their mouths” have been misplaced from v. 6. They fit better at the end of v. 5 or v. 6. Perhaps these words were originally a marginal scribal note which was later accidentally inserted into the text in the wrong place.

[7:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “the people.”

[9:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[9:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “in my hand.”

[9:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “said to Abimelech.” On the other hand, the preposition ל (lamed) prefixed to the proper name may be vocative (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 178). If so, one could translate, “He boasted, ‘Abimelech…’”

[9:29]  ⁸ tn Heb “Make numerous.”

[9:29]  ⁹ tn The words “for battle” are interpretive.

[9:37]  ⁶ tn Heb “navel.” On the background of the Hebrew expression “the navel of the land,” see R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 178-79.

[9:37]  ⁷ tn Heb “head.”

[9:37]  ⁸ tn Some English translations simply transliterated this as a place name (Heb “Elon-meonenim”); cf. NAB, NRSV.

[11:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.

[11:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).

[12:2]  ⁸ tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”

[12:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “hand.”

[18:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

[20:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “as one man.”

[20:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “to his tent.”

[20:8]  ¹² tn Or “turn aside.”

[20:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And from all this people.”

[20:16]  ¹² tn Heb “seven hundred choice men, bound/restricted in the right hand.” On the significance of the idiom, “bound/restricted in the right hand,” see the translator’s note on 3:15.

[20:16]  ¹³ tn “at a single hair and not miss.”

[20:22]  ¹² tn Heb “The people, the men of Israel.”

[20:22]  ¹³ tn Or “encouraged one another.”

[21:2]  ¹³ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[21:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they lifted up their voice[s] and wept with great weeping.” Both the cognate accusative בְּכִי (bekhi, “weeping”) and the attributive adjective גָדוֹל (gadol, “great”) emphasize their degree of sorrow.