Judges 6:2

6:2 The Midianites ¹  overwhelmed Israel. ²  Because of Midian the Israelites made shelters ³  for themselves in the hills, as well as caves and strongholds.

Judges 9:8

9:8 “The trees were determined to go out ⁴  and choose a king for themselves. ⁵  They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king!’ ⁶ 

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¹ tn Heb “the hand of Midian.”

² tn Heb “The hand of Midian was strong against Israel.”

³ tn Or possibly “secret storage places.” The Hebrew word occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

⁴ tn Heb “Going they went, the trees.” The precise emphatic force of the infinitive absolute (“Going”) is not entirely clear. Perhaps here it indicates determination, as in Gen 31:30, where one might translate, “You have insisted on going away.”

⁵ tn Heb “to anoint [with oil] over them a king.”

⁶ tn Or “Rule over us!”