Judges 5:8

5:8 God chose new leaders, ¹ 

then fighters appeared in the city gates; ² 

but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, ³ 

among forty military units ⁴  in Israel.

Judges 16:11-12

16:11 He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, ⁵  I will become weak and be just like any other man.” 16:12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are here, ⁶  Samson!” (The Philistines were hiding in the bedroom.) ⁷  But he tore the ropes ⁸  from his arms as if they were a piece of thread.

[5:8]  ¹ tn Or “warriors.” The Hebrew text reads literally, “He chose God/gods new.” Some take “Israel” as the subject of the verb, “gods” as object, and “new” as an adjective modifying “gods.” This yields the translation, “(Israel) chose new gods.” In this case idolatry is the cause of the trouble alluded to in the context. The present translation takes “God” as subject of the verb and “new” as substantival, referring to the new leaders raised up by God (see v. 9a). For a survey of opinions and a defense of the present translation, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40.

[5:8]  ² tn The translation of this difficult line is speculative because the second word, לָחֶם (lakhem), appears only here. The line in the Hebrew text literally reads, “Then [?] gates.” Interpretations and emendations of the Hebrew text abound (see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 239-40). The translation assumes a repointing of the form as a Qal participle לֹחֵם (lokhem) from the verbal root לָחַם (lakham, “fight”) and understands a substantival use (“fighter”). “Fighter” is a collective reference to the military leaders or warriors mentioned in the preceding line and in v. 9. (For other occurrences of the Qal of לָחַם, see Pss 35:1; 56:2-3.)

[5:8]  ³ tn Heb “A shield, it could not be seen, nor a spear.” The translation assumes that the Hebrew particle אִם (’im) introduces an oath of denial (see GKC 472 §149.e).

[5:8]  ⁴ tn Traditionally “forty thousand,” but this may be an instance where Hebrew term אֶלֶף (’elef) refers to a military unit. This is the view assumed by the translation (“forty military units”).

[16:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “with which no work has been done.”

[16:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “are upon you.”

[16:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And the ones lying in wait were sitting in the bedroom.”

[16:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the ropes) has been specified in the translation for clarity.