Judges 5:22-24

5:22 The horses’ ¹  hooves pounded the ground; ² 

the stallions galloped madly. ³ 

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on ⁴  Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic ⁵  messenger;

‘Be sure ⁶  to call judgment down on ⁷  those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, ⁸ 

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ ⁹ 

5:24 The most rewarded ¹⁰  of women should be Jael,

the wife of Heber the Kenite!

She should be the most rewarded of women who live in tents.

[5:22]  ¹ tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.

[5:22]  ² tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:22]  ³ tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.

[5:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”

[5:23]  ⁵ tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

[5:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.

[5:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “[to] curse.”

[5:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”

[5:23]  ⁹ tn Or “along with the other warriors.”

[5:24]  ⁷ tn Or “blessed.”