Judges 6:31

6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ¹  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ²  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ³  will die by morning! ⁴  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ⁵  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” 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 

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¹ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

² tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

³ tn Heb “fights for him.”

⁴ sn Whoever takes up his cause will die by morning. This may be a warning to the crowd that Joash intends to defend his son and to kill anyone who tries to execute Gideon. Then again, it may be a sarcastic statement about Baal’s apparent inability to defend his own honor. Anyone who takes up Baal’s cause may end up dead, perhaps by the same hand that pulled down the pagan god’s altar.

⁵ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

⁶ tn Heb “for he pulled down his altar.” The subject of the verb, if not Gideon, is indefinite (in which case a passive translation is permissible).

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?”