Judges 3:19

3:19 But he went back ¹  once he reached ²  the carved images ³  at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, ⁴  “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon ⁵  said, “Be quiet!” ⁶  All his attendants left.

Judges 7:15

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. ⁷  Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”

Judges 11:8-9

11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ⁸  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ⁹  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ¹⁰  of all who live in Gilead.” ¹¹  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ¹²  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ¹³  I will be your leader.” ¹⁴ 

Judges 11:13

11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ¹⁵  my land when they ¹⁶  came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. ¹⁷  Now return it ¹⁸  peaceably!”

Judges 11:35

11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! ¹⁹  You have brought me disaster! ²⁰  I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.” ²¹ 

Judges 11:39

11:39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. ²²  Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. ²³ 

Judges 15:19

15:19 So God split open the basin ²⁴  at Lehi and water flowed out from it. When he took a drink, his strength ²⁵  was restored and he revived. For this reason he named the spring ²⁶  En Hakkore. ²⁷  It remains in Lehi to this very day.

Judges 19:3

19:3 her husband came ²⁸  after her, hoping he could convince her to return. ²⁹  He brought with him his servant ³⁰  and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. ³¹ 

Judges 20:48

20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns ³²  and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, ³³  the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. ³⁴ 

Judges 21:23

21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. ³⁵  They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. ³⁶  They went home ³⁷  to their own territory, ³⁸  rebuilt their cities, and settled down. ³⁹ 

[3:19]  ¹ tn Or “returned” (i.e., to Eglon’s palace).

[3:19]  ² tn The words “when he reached” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text simply reads “from.”

[3:19]  ³ tn Or “idols.”

[3:19]  ⁴ tn The words “to Eglon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eglon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:19]  ⁶ tn Or “Hush!”

[7:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

[11:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).

[11:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.

[11:8]  ¹⁵ sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.

[11:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ¹⁹ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ²¹ tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.

[11:13]  ²⁵ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:13]  ²⁸ tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.

[11:35]  ³¹ tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

[11:35]  ³² tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

[11:35]  ³³ tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

[11:39]  ³⁷ tn Heb “She had never known a man.” Some understand this to mean that her father committed her to a life of celibacy, but the disjunctive clause (note the vav + subject + verb pattern) more likely describes her condition at the time the vow was fulfilled. (See G. F. Moore, Judges [ICC], 302-3; C. F. Burney, Judges, 324.) She died a virgin and never experienced the joys of marriage and motherhood.

[11:39]  ³⁸ tn Heb “There was a custom in Israel.”

[15:19]  ⁴³ tn The word translated “basin” refers to a circular-shaped depression in the land’s surface.

[15:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “spirit.”

[15:19]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “named it”; the referent (the spring) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:19]  ⁴⁶ sn The name En Hakkore means “Spring of the one who cries out.”

[19:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “arose and came.”

[19:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “to speak to her heart to bring her back.”

[19:3]  ⁵¹ tn Or “young man.”

[19:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “he was happy to meet him.”

[20:48]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “to the sons of Benjamin.”

[20:48]  ⁵⁶ tc The translation is based on the reading מֵעִיר מְתִים (me’ir mÿtim, “from a city of men,” i.e., “an inhabited city”), rather than the reading מֵעִיר מְתֹם (me’ir mÿtom, “from a city of soundness”) found in the Leningrad Codex (L).

[20:48]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “Also all the cities that were found they set on fire.”

[21:23]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “did so.”

[21:23]  ⁶² tn Heb “And they took wives according to their number from the dancing girls whom they abducted.”

[21:23]  ⁶³ tn Heb “went and returned.”

[21:23]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “inheritance.”

[21:23]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and lived in them.”