Judges 15:2

15:2 Her father said, “I really thought ¹  you absolutely despised ²  her, so I gave her to your best man. Her younger sister is more attractive than she is. Take her instead!” ³ 

Judges 16:20

16:20 She said, “The Philistines are here, ⁴  Samson!” He woke up ⁵  and thought, ⁶  “I will do as I did before ⁷  and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him.

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¹ tn Heb “saying, I said.” The first person form of אָמַר (’amar, “to say”) sometimes indicates self-reflection. The girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

² tn Heb “hating, you hated.” Once again the girl’s father uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

³ tn Heb “Is her younger sister not better than her? Let her [i.e., the younger sister] be yours instead of her [i.e., Samson’s ‘bride’]).”

⁴ tn Heb “are upon you.”

⁵ tn The Hebrew adds, “from his sleep.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “and said.”

⁷ tn Heb “I will go out as before.”