Judges 6:31

6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ¹  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ²  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ³  will die by morning! ⁴  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ⁵  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ⁶ 

Judges 7:4

7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. ⁷  Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. ⁸  When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; ⁹  when I say, ¹⁰  ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.” ¹¹ 

Judges 7:24

Gideon Appeases the Ephraimites

7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. ¹²  Take control of the fords of the streams ¹³  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” ¹⁴  When all the Ephraimites had assembled, ¹⁵  they took control of the fords ¹⁶  all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.

Judges 15:11

15:11 Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.”

[6:31]  ¹ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ² tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ³ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ⁶ 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).

[7:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “too many people.”

[7:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “test them for you there.”

[7:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “he should go with you.”

[7:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb also has “to you.”

[7:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he should not go.”

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “to meet Midian.”

[7:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”

[7:24]  ¹⁵ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse).

[7:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”

[7:24]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “they captured the waters.”