Judges 6:22

6:22 When Gideon realized ¹  that it was the Lord’s messenger, he ²  said, “Oh no! ³  Master, Lord! ⁴  I have seen the Lord’s messenger face to face!”

Judges 6:31

6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ⁵  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ⁶  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ⁷  will die by morning! ⁸  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ⁹  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ¹⁰ 

Judges 7:1

Gideon Reduces the Ranks

7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men ¹¹  got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. ¹²  The Midianites ¹³  were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley.

Judges 9:3

9:3 His mother’s relatives ¹⁴  spoke on his behalf to ¹⁵  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ¹⁶  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ¹⁷  they said, “He is our close relative.” ¹⁸ 

Judges 9:18

9:18 But you have attacked ¹⁹  my father’s family ²⁰  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ²¹  sons on one stone and made Abimelech, the son of his female slave, king over the leaders of Shechem, just because he is your close relative. ²² 

Judges 9:33

9:33 In the morning at sunrise quickly attack the city. When he and his men come out to fight you, do what you can to him.” ²³ 

Judges 13:6

13:6 The woman went and said to her husband, “A man sent from God ²⁴  came to me! He looked like God’s angelic messenger – he was very awesome. ²⁵  I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.

Judges 13:16

13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ²⁶  I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) ²⁷ 

Judges 15:14

15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered ²⁸  him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in ²⁹  fire, and they ³⁰  melted away from his hands.

Judges 18:30

18:30 The Danites worshiped ³¹  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ³²  of Gershom, son of Moses, ³³  and his descendants ³⁴  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

Judges 19:9

19:9 When the man got ready to leave ³⁵  with his concubine and his servant, ³⁶  his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over! ³⁷  Stay another night! Since the day is over, ³⁸  stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” ³⁹ 

Judges 20:39

20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. ⁴⁰  Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; ⁴¹  they struck down ⁴²  about thirty men. They said, “There’s no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle.”

[6:22]  ¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[6:22]  ² tn Heb “Gideon.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:22]  ³ tn Or “Ah!”

[6:22]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads אֲדֹנַי יְהוִה (’adonay yÿhvih, “Lord [the same title used in v. 15], Lord”).

[6:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ⁸ sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.

[6:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).

[9:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “brothers.”

[9:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “into the ears of.”

[9:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and all these words.”

[9:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Their heart was inclined after Abimelech.”

[9:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “our brother.”

[9:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ¹⁹ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your brother.”

[9:33]  ²¹ tn Heb “Look! He and the people who are with him will come out to you, and you will do to him what your hand finds [to do].”

[13:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “The man of God.”

[13:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “His appearance was like the appearance of the messenger of God, very awesome.”

[13:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ³⁰ tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the Lord. In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the Lord’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife did not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim), not the Lord (יְהוַה, yÿhvah). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” (אֲדוֹנָי, ’adonay) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8).

[15:14]  ³³ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[15:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “burned with.”

[15:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “his bonds.”

[18:30]  ³⁷ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

[18:30]  ³⁸ tn Heb “son.”

[18:30]  ³⁹ tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

[18:30]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “sons.”

[19:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “the man arose to go.”

[19:9]  ⁴² tn Or “young man.”

[19:9]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the day is sinking to become evening.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “declining.”

[19:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “for your way and go to your tent.”

[20:39]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “turned in the battle.”

[20:39]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “And Benjamin began to strike down wounded ones among the men of Israel.”

[20:39]  ⁴⁷ tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.