Judges 2:1

Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim

2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger¹ went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors.² I said, ‘I will never break my agreement³ with you,

Judges 3:28

3:28 He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!”⁴ They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River⁵ opposite Moab,⁶ and did not let anyone cross.

Judges 6:25

Gideon Destroys the Altar

6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old.⁷ Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole.

Judges 7:4

7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men.⁸ Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more.⁹ When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go;¹⁰ when I say,¹¹ ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.”¹²

Judges 7:22

7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords¹³ throughout¹⁴ the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went¹⁵ to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Judges 11:35

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

Judges 12:3

12:3 When I saw that you were not going to help,¹⁹ I risked my life²⁰ and advanced against²¹ the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up²² to fight with me today?”

Judges 13:23

13:23 But his wife said to him, “If the Lord wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted the burnt offering and the grain offering from us.²³ He would not have shown us all these things, or have spoken to us like this just now.”

Judges 14:6

14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered²⁴ him and he tore the lion²⁵ in two with his bare hands²⁶ as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

Judges 14:19

14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes²⁷ and gave them²⁸ to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home.²⁹

Judges 15:14

15:14 When he arrived in Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they approached him. But the Lord’s spirit empowered³⁰ him. The ropes around his arms were like flax dissolving in³¹ fire, and they³² melted away from his hands.

Judges 17:2

17:2 He said to his mother, “You know³³ the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen³⁴ from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole³⁵ it, but now I am giving it back to you.”³⁶ His mother said, “May the Lord reward³⁷ you, my son!”

Judges 20:28

20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord³⁸ in those days), “Should we³⁹ once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers,⁴⁰ or should we⁴¹ quit?” The Lord said, “Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them⁴² over to you.”

Judges 20:31

20:31 The Benjaminites attacked⁴³ the army, leaving the city unguarded.⁴⁴ They began to strike down their enemy⁴⁵ just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel,⁴⁶ the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down⁴⁷ about thirty Israelites.

¹sn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.

²tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”

³tn Or “covenant” (also in the following verse).

⁴tn Heb “for the Lord has given your enemies, Moab, into your hand.” The verb form (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”

⁵tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

⁶tn Or “against Moab,” that is, so as to prevent the Moabites from crossing.

⁷tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.

⁸tn Heb “too many people.”

⁹tn Heb “test them for you there.”

¹⁰tn Heb “he should go with you.”

¹¹tn Heb also has “to you.”

¹²tn Heb “he should not go.”

¹³tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

¹⁴tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

¹⁵tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

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

²⁰tn Heb “I put my life in my hand.”

²¹tn Heb “crossed over to.”

²²tn The Hebrew adds “against me” here. This is redundant in English and has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

²³tn Heb “our hand.”

²⁴tn Heb “rushed on.”

²⁵tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

²⁷tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

²⁸tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

²⁹tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

³⁰tn Heb “rushed on.”

³¹tn Heb “burned with.”

³²tn Heb “his bonds.”

³³tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

³⁴tn Heb “taken.”

³⁵tn Heb “took.”

³⁶tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.

³⁷tn Traditionally, “bless.”

³⁸tn Heb “standing before him.”

³⁹tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

⁴⁰tn Heb “my brother” (collective singular).

⁴¹tn Heb “I” (collective singular).

⁴²tn Heb “him” (collective singular).

⁴³tn Heb “went out to meet.”

⁴⁴tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

⁴⁵tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

⁴⁶map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

⁴⁷tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.