Hakim-hakim 1:15

1:15 She answered, “Please give me a special present. ¹  Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. ² 

Hakim-hakim 6:31

6:31 But Joash said to all those who confronted him, ³  “Must you fight Baal’s battles? ⁴  Must you rescue him? Whoever takes up his cause ⁵  will die by morning! ⁶  If he really is a god, let him fight his own battles! ⁷  After all, it was his altar that was pulled down.” ⁸ 

Hakim-hakim 9:28

9:28 Gaal son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and is not Zebul the deputy he appointed? ⁹  Serve the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem! But why should we serve Abimelech? ¹⁰ 

Hakim-hakim 13:16

13:16 The Lord’s messenger said to Manoah, “If I stay, ¹¹  I will not eat your food. But if you want to make a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, you should offer it.” (He said this because Manoah did not know that he was the Lord’s messenger.) ¹² 

Hakim-hakim 15:12

15:12 They said to him, “We have come down to take you prisoner so we can hand you over to the Philistines.” Samson said to them, “Promise me ¹³  you will not kill ¹⁴  me.”

Hakim-hakim 16:30

16:30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed hard ¹⁵  and the temple collapsed on the rulers and all the people in it. He killed many more people in his death than he had killed during his life. ¹⁶ 

[1:15]  ¹ tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (vÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).

[1:15]  ² tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).

[6:31]  ³ tn Heb “to all who stood against him.”

[6:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “Do you fight for Baal?”

[6:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “fights for him.”

[6:31]  ⁶ 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.

[6:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “fight for himself.”

[6:31]  ⁸ 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).

[9:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “and Zebul his appointee.”

[9:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abimelech) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “If you detain me.”

[13:16]  ¹² tn The words “he said this” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Manoah should have known from these words that the messenger represented the Lord. In the preceding narrative the narrator has informed the reader that the visitor is the Lord’s messenger, but Manoah and his wife did not perceive this. In vv. 5 and 7 the angel refers to “God” (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim), not the Lord (יְהוַה, yÿhvah). Manoah’s wife calls the visitor “a man sent from God” and “God’s messenger” (v. 6), while Manoah prays to the “Lord” (אֲדוֹנָי, ’adonay) and calls the visitor “a man sent from God” (v. 8).

[15:12]  ¹³ tn Or “swear to me.”

[15:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “meet [with hostility]”; “harm.” In light of v. 13, “kill” is an appropriate translation.

[16:30]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he stretched out with strength.”

[16:30]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “And the ones whom he killed in his death were many more than he killed in his life.”