Judges 5:23

5:23 ‘Call judgment down on ¹  Meroz,’ says the Lord’s angelic ²  messenger;

‘Be sure ³  to call judgment down on ⁴  those who live there,

because they did not come to help in the Lord’s battle, ⁵ 

to help in the Lord’s battle against the warriors.’ ⁶ 

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 20:31

20:31 The Benjaminites attacked ⁸  the army, leaving the city unguarded. ⁹  They began to strike down their enemy ¹⁰  just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, ¹¹  the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down ¹²  about thirty Israelites.

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¹ tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”

² tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.

³ tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.

⁴ tn Heb “[to] curse.”

⁵ tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”

⁶ tn Or “along with the other warriors.”

⁷ tn 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.

⁸ tn Heb “went out to meet.”

⁹ tn Heb “and they were drawn away from the city.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “from the army wounded ones.”

¹¹ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

¹² tn The words “they struck down” are supplied in the translation for clarification.