Judges 6:14

6:14 Then the Lord himself ¹  turned to him and said, “You have the strength. ²  Deliver Israel from the power of the Midianites! ³  Have I not sent you?”

Judges 9:23

9:23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility ⁴  between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal ⁵  to Abimelech.

Judges 11:19

11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” ⁶ 

Judges 19:29

19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. ⁷  Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. ⁸ 

Judges 20:38

20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush ⁹  sent up a smoke signal from the city,

Judges 21:13

21:13 The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. ¹⁰ 

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¹ sn Some interpreters equate the Lord and the messenger in this story, but they are more likely distinct. In vv. 22-23 the Lord and Gideon continue to carry on a conversation after the messenger has vanished (v. 21).

² tn Heb “Go in this strength of yours.”

³ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

⁴ tn Heb “an evil spirit.” A nonphysical, spirit being is in view, like the one who volunteered to deceive Ahab (1 Kgs 22:21). The traditional translation, “evil spirit,” implies the being is inherently wicked, perhaps even demonic, but this is not necessarily the case. The Hebrew adjective רָעַה (ra’ah) can have a nonethical sense, “harmful; dangerous; calamitous.” When modifying רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) it may simply indicate that the being in view causes harm to the object of God’s judgment. G. F. Moore (Judges [ICC], 253) here refers to a “mischief-making spirit.”

⁵ tn Heb “The leaders of Shechem were disloyal.” The words “he made” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁶ tn Heb “to my place.”

⁷ tn Heb “he carved her up by her bones into twelve pieces.”

⁸ tn Heb “and he sent her through all the territory of Israel.”

⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men hiding in ambush) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “And all the assembly sent and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the cliff of Rimmon and they proclaimed to them peace.”