Judges 2:18

2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people 1  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them 2  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. 3 

Judges 3:15

3:15 When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he 4  raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. 5  The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment. 6 

Judges 14:16

14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder 7  and said, “You must 8  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men 9  a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?” 10 

1 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

2 tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

3 tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.

4 tn Heb “the Lord.” This has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

5 tn The phrase, which refers to Ehud, literally reads “bound/restricted in the right hand,” apparently a Hebrew idiom for a left-handed person. See Judg 20:16, where 700 Benjaminites are described in this way. Perhaps the Benjaminites purposely trained several of their young men to be left-handed warriors by restricting the use of the right hand from an early age so the left hand would become dominant. Left-handed men would have a distinct military advantage, especially when attacking city gates. See B. Halpern, “The Assassination of Eglon: The First Locked-Room Murder Mystery,” BRev 4 (1988): 35.

6 tn Heb “The Israelites sent by his hand an offering to Eglon, king of Moab.”

7 tn Heb “on him.”

8 tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

9 tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

10 tn Heb “Should I tell you?”