Judges 5:28-30

5:28 Through the window she looked;

Sisera’s mother cried out through the lattice:

‘Why is his chariot so slow to return?

Why are the hoofbeats of his chariot-horses ¹  delayed?’

5:29 The wisest of her ladies ²  answer;

indeed she even thinks to herself,

5:30 ‘No doubt they are gathering and dividing the plunder ³  –

a girl or two for each man to rape! ⁴ 

Sisera is grabbing up colorful cloth, ⁵ 

he is grabbing up colorful embroidered cloth, ⁶ 

two pieces of colorful embroidered cloth,

for the neck of the plunderer!’ ⁷ 

[5:28]  ¹ tn Heb “chariots.”

[5:29]  ² tn Or “princesses.”

[5:30]  ³ tn Heb “Are they not finding, dividing the plunder?”

[5:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “a womb or two for each man.” The words “to rape” are interpretive. The Hebrew noun translated “girl” means literally “womb” (BDB 933 s.v. I. רַחַם), but in this context may refer by extension to the female genitalia. In this case the obscene language of Sisera’s mother alludes to the sexual brutality which typified the aftermath of battle.

[5:30]  ⁵ tn Heb “the plunder of dyed cloth is for Sisera.”

[5:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “the plunder of embroidered cloth.”

[5:30]  ⁷ tn The translation assumes an emendation of the noun (“plunder”) to a participle, “plunderer.”