Judges 2:19

2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ¹  would again ²  act more wickedly than the previous one. ³  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ⁴  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ⁵  their practices or their stubborn ways.

Judges 3:20

3:20 When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated ⁶  upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God ⁷  for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat, ⁸ 

Judges 9:7

Jotham’s Parable

9:7 When Jotham heard the news, ⁹  he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He spoke loudly to the people below, ¹⁰  “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you!

Judges 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ¹¹  You must never cut his hair, ¹²  for the child will be dedicated to God ¹³  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ¹⁴  of the Philistines.”

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?’” ¹⁵ 

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¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.

³ tn Heb “their fathers.”

sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).

⁴ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

⁵ tn Or “drop.”

⁶ tn Or “cool.” This probably refers to a room with latticed windows which allowed the breeze to pass through. See B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 144.

⁷ tn Heb “word of [i.e., from] God.”

⁸ tn Or “throne.”

⁹ tn Heb “And they reported to Jotham.” The subject of the plural verb is indefinite.

¹⁰ tn Heb “He lifted his voice and called and said to them.”

¹¹ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

¹² tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

¹³ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

¹⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”