Judges 9:2

9:2 “Tell ¹  all the leaders of Shechem this: ‘Why would you want ²  to have seventy men, all Jerub-Baal’s sons, ruling over you, when you can have just one ruler? Recall that I am your own flesh and blood.’” ³ 

Judges 13:16

13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ⁴  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.) ⁵ 

Judges 16:17-18

16:17 Finally he told her his secret. ⁶  He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, ⁷  for I have been dedicated to God ⁸  from the time I was conceived. ⁹  If my head ¹⁰  were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak, and be just like all other men.” 16:18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, ¹¹  she sent for ¹²  the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me ¹³  his secret.” ¹⁴  So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.

[9:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Speak into the ears of.”

[9:2]  ² tn Heb “What good is it to you?”

[9:2]  ³ tn Heb “your bone and your flesh.”

[13:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ⁵ 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).

[16:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “a razor has not come upon my head.”

[16:17]  ⁹ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[16:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the womb of my mother.”

[16:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I.” The referent has been made more specific in the translation (“my head”).

[16:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all his heart.”

[16:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “she sent and summoned.”

[16:18]  ¹² tc The translation follows the Qere, לִי (li, “to me”) rather than the Kethib, לָהּ (lah, “to her”).

[16:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “all his heart.”