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 5:11

5:11 Hear ⁵  the sound of those who divide the sheep ⁶  among the watering places;

there they tell of ⁷  the Lord’s victorious deeds,

the victorious deeds of his warriors ⁸  in Israel.

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

Judges 6:4

6:4 They invaded the land ⁹  and devoured ¹⁰  its crops ¹¹  all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for the Israelites to eat, ¹²  and they took away ¹³  the sheep, oxen, and donkeys.

Judges 14:4

14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ¹⁴  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ¹⁵  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

Judges 20:6

20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces ¹⁶  throughout the territory occupied by Israel, ¹⁷  because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity ¹⁸  in Israel.

Judges 20:21

20:21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. ¹⁹ 

Judges 21:3

21:3 They said, “Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?” An entire ²⁰  tribe has disappeared from Israel today!”

[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”).

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

[5:11]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “repeat.”

[5:11]  ⁸ tn See the note on the term “warriors” in v. 7.

[6:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “They encamped against them.”

[6:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “destroyed.”

[6:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the crops of the land.”

[6:4]  ¹² tn Heb “They left no sustenance in Israel.”

[6:4]  ¹³ tn The words “they took away” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[14:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[20:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”

[20:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”

[20:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”

[20:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “The sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and they struck down in Israel that day twenty-two thousand men to the ground.”

[21:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “one.”