Judges 9:5

9:5 He went to his father’s home in Ophrah and murdered his half-brothers, ¹  the seventy legitimate ²  sons of Jerub-Baal, on one stone. Only Jotham, Jerub-Baal’s youngest son, escaped, ³  because he hid.

Judges 9:16-19

9:16 “Now, if you have shown loyalty and integrity when you made Abimelech king, if you have done right to Jerub-Baal and his family, ⁴  if you have properly repaid him ⁵  – 9:17 my father fought for you; he risked his life ⁶  and delivered you from Midian’s power. ⁷  9:18 But you have attacked ⁸  my father’s family ⁹  today. You murdered his seventy legitimate ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  9:19 So if you have shown loyalty and integrity to Jerub-Baal and his family ¹²  today, then may Abimelech bring you happiness and may you bring him happiness! ¹³ 

Ecclesiastes 9:14-15

9:14 There was once ¹⁴  a small city with a few men in it,

and a mighty king attacked it, besieging ¹⁵  it and building strong ¹⁶  siege works against it.

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ¹⁷ 

and he could have delivered ¹⁸  the city by his wisdom,

but no one listened ¹⁹  to that poor man.

[9:5]  ¹ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[9:5]  ² tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ³ tn Heb “remained.”

[9:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[9:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “if according to the deeds of his hands you have done to him.”

[9:17]  ⁶ tc Heb “threw his life out in front,” that is, “exposed himself to danger.” The MT form מִנֶּגֶד (minneged, “from before”) should probably be read as מִנֶּגְדּוֹ (minnegdo, “from before him”); haplography of vav has likely occurred here in the MT.

[9:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “hand.”

[9:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “have risen up against.”

[9:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[9:18]  ¹⁰ tn The word “legitimate” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “your brother.”

[9:19]  ¹² tn Heb “house.”

[9:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “then rejoice in Abimelech, and may he also rejoice in you.”

[9:14]  ¹⁴ tn The verbs in this section function either as past definite actions (describing a past situation) or as hypothetical past actions (describing an imaginary hypothetical situation for the sake of illustration). The LXX uses subjunctives throughout vv. 14-15 to depict the scenario as a hypothetical situation: “Suppose there was a little city, and a few men [lived] in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great siege-works against it; and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom; yet no man would remember that poor man.”

[9:14]  ¹⁵ tn The two perfect tense verbs וְסָבַב (vÿsavav, “he besieged”) and וּבָנָה (uvanah, “he built”) may be taken in a complementary sense, qualifying the action of the main perfect tense verb וּבָא (uva’, “he attacked it”).

[9:14]  ¹⁶ tn The root גדל (“mighty; strong; large”) is repeated in 9:13b for emphasis: “a mighty (גָדוֹל, gadol) king…building strong (גְדֹלִים, gÿdolim) siege works.” This repetition highlights the contrast between the vast power and resources of the attacking king, and the meager resources of the “little” (קְטַנָּה, qÿtannah) city with “few” (מְעָט, mÿ’at) men in it to defend it.

[9:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:15]  ¹⁸ tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).

[9:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “remembered.”