Judges 1:7

1:7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up¹ food scraps² under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.”³ They brought him to Jerusalem,⁴ where he died.

Judges 4:18

4:18 Jael came out to welcome Sisera. She said to him, “Stop and rest,⁵ my lord. Stop and rest with me. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera⁶ stopped to rest in her tent, and she put a blanket over him.

Judges 9:9

9:9 But the olive tree said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!’⁷

Judges 9:13

9:13 But the grapevine said to them, ‘I am not going to stop producing my wine, which makes gods and men so happy, just to sway above the other trees!’⁸

Judges 9:15

9:15 The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to choose⁹ me as your king, then come along, find safety under my branches!¹⁰ Otherwise¹¹ may fire blaze from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

Judges 11:7

11:7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave¹² my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?”

Judges 11:31

11:31 then whoever is the first to come through¹³ the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he¹⁴ will belong to the Lord and¹⁵ I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.”

Judges 11:35-36

11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, “Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me!¹⁶ You have brought me disaster!¹⁷ I made an oath to the Lord, and I cannot break it.”¹⁸ 11:36 She said to him, “My father, since¹⁹ you made an oath to the Lord, do to me as you promised.²⁰ After all, the Lord vindicated you before²¹ your enemies, the Ammonites.”

Judges 12:2-3

12:2 Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were entangled in controversy with the Ammonites.²² I asked for your help, but you did not deliver me from their power.²³ 12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help,²⁴ I risked my life²⁵ and advanced against²⁶ the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up²⁷ to fight with me today?”

Judges 13:11

13:11 So Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he met²⁸ the man, he said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?”²⁹ He said, “Yes.”³⁰

Judges 16:28

16:28 Samson called to the Lord, “O Master, Lord,³¹ remember me! Strengthen me just one more time, O God, so I can get swift revenge³² against the Philistines for my two eyes!”

Judges 18:24

18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’”³³

Judges 20:5-6

20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying.³⁴ They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces³⁵ throughout the territory occupied by Israel,³⁶ because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity³⁷ in Israel.

¹tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.

²tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

³tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.

⁴map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵tn Heb “Turn aside” (also a second time later in this verse).

⁶tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sisera) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷tn Heb “Should I stop my abundance, with which they honor gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

⁸tn Heb “Should I stop my wine, which makes happy gods and men, and go to sway over the trees?” The negative sentence in the translation reflects the force of the rhetorical question.

⁹tn Heb “are about to anoint [with oil].”

¹⁰tn Heb “in my shade.”

¹¹tn Heb “If not.”

¹²tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”

¹³tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא (hayyotse’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or a word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.

¹⁴tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.

¹⁵tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the Lord’s service, but if an animal comes through the doors, he will offer it up as a sacrifice. However, it is far more likely that the Hebrew construction (vav [ו] + perfect) specifies how the subject will become the Lord’s, that is, by being offered up as a sacrifice. For similar constructions, where the apodosis of a conditional sentence has at least two perfects (each with vav) in sequence, see Gen 34:15-16; Exod 18:16.

¹⁶tn Heb “you have brought me very low,” or “you have knocked me to my knees.” The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

¹⁷tn Heb “You are among [or “like”] those who trouble me.”

¹⁸tn Heb “I opened my mouth to the Lord and I am not able to return.”

¹⁹tn The conjunction “since” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

²⁰tn Heb “you opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to [what] went out from your mouth.”

²¹tn Or “has given you vengeance against.”

²²tn Heb A man of great strife I was and my people and the Ammonites.”

²³tn Heb “hand.”

²⁴tn Heb “you were no deliverer.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX has “no one was helping.”

²⁵tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

²⁶tn Heb “crossed over to.”

²⁷tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²⁸tn Heb “came to.”

²⁹tn Heb “the woman.”

³⁰tn Heb “I [am].”

³¹tn The Hebrew has אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה (’adonay yehovih, “Lord Yahweh”).

³²tn Heb “so I can get revenge with one act of vengeance.”

³³tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

³⁴tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”

³⁵tn Heb “her”; the referent is more naturally stated in English as “the pieces.”

³⁶tn Heb “throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel.”

³⁷tn Heb “a wicked and disgraceful [thing].”