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Judges 16-18
Contemporary English Version
Judges 16-18
Contemporary English Version
Samson Carries Off the Gates of Gaza
16 One day while Samson was in Gaza, he saw a prostitute and went to her house to spend the night. 2 The people who lived in Gaza found out he was there, and they decided to kill him at sunrise. So they went to the city gate and waited all night in the guardrooms on each side of the gate.[a]
3 But Samson got up in the middle of the night and went to the town gate. He pulled the gate doors and doorposts out of the wall and put them on his shoulders. Then he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron,[b] where he set the doors down, still closed and locked.
Delilah Tricks Samson
4 Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley. 5 The Philistine rulers[c] went to Delilah and said, “Trick Samson into telling you what makes him so strong and what can make him weak. Then we can tie him up so he can't get away. If you find out his secret, we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”[d]
6 The next time Samson was at Delilah's house, she asked, “Samson, what makes you so strong? How can I tie you up so you can't get away? Come on, you can tell me.”
7 Samson answered, “If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that have never been dried,[e] it will make me just as weak as anyone else.”
8-9 The Philistine rulers gave seven new bowstrings to Delilah. They also told some of their soldiers to go to Delilah's house and hide in the room where Samson and Delilah were. If the bowstrings made Samson weak, they would be able to capture him.
Delilah tied up Samson with the bowstrings and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!”
Samson snapped the bowstrings, as though they were pieces of scorched string. The Philistines had not found out why Samson was so strong.
10 “You lied and made me look like a fool,” Delilah said. “Now tell me. How can I really tie you up?”
11 Samson answered, “Use some new ropes. If I'm tied up with ropes that have never been used, I'll be just as weak as anyone else.”
12 Delilah got new ropes, and again some Philistines hid in the room. Then she tied up Samson's arms and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!”
Samson snapped the ropes as if they were threads.
13 “You're still lying and making a fool of me,” Delilah said. “Tell me how I can tie you up!”
“My hair is in seven braids,” Samson replied. “If you weave my braids into the threads on a loom and nail the loom[f] to a wall, then I will be as weak as anyone else.”
14 While Samson was asleep, Delilah wove his braids into the threads on a loom and nailed the loom to a wall.[g] Then she shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!”
Samson woke up and pulled the loom free from its posts in the ground and from the nails in the wall. Then he pulled his hair free from the woven cloth.
15 “Samson,” Delilah said, “you claim to love me, but you don't mean it! You've made me look like a fool three times now, and you still haven't told me why you are so strong.” 16 Delilah started nagging and pestering him day after day, until he couldn't stand it any longer.
17 Finally, Samson told her the truth. “I have belonged to God[h] ever since I was born, so my hair has never been cut. If it were ever cut off, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as anyone else.”
18 Delilah realized that he was telling the truth. So she sent someone to tell the Philistine rulers, “Come to my house one more time. Samson has finally told me the truth.”
The Philistine rulers went to Delilah's house, and they brought along the silver they had promised her. 19 Delilah had lulled Samson to sleep with his head resting in her lap. She signaled to one of the Philistine men as she began cutting off Samson's seven braids. And by the time she was finished, Samson's strength was gone. Delilah tied him up 20 and shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!”
Samson woke up and thought, “I'll break loose and escape, just as I always do.” He did not realize that the Lord had stopped helping him.
21 The Philistines grabbed Samson and poked out his eyes. They took him to the prison in Gaza and chained him up. Then they put him to work, turning a millstone to grind grain. 22 But they didn't cut his hair any more, so it started growing back.
23 The Philistine rulers threw a big party and sacrificed a lot of animals to their god Dagon. The rulers said:
Samson was our enemy,
but our god Dagon
helped us capture him!
24-25 Everyone there was having a good time, and they shouted, “Bring out Samson—he's still good for a few more laughs!”
The rulers had Samson brought from the prison, and when the people saw him, this is how they praised their god:
Samson ruined our crops
and killed our people.
He was our enemy,
but our god helped us
capture him.
They made fun of Samson for a while, then they told him to stand near the columns that supported the roof. 26 A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, “I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof.”
27 The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with people and with 3,000[i] more on the flat roof. They had all been watching Samson and making fun of him.[j]
28 Samson prayed, “Please remember me, Lord God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!”[k]
29 Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand. 30 Then he shouted, “Let me die with the Philistines!” He pushed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with the Philistine rulers and everyone else still inside. Samson killed more Philistines when he died than he had killed during his entire life.
31 His brothers and the rest of his family went to Gaza and took his body back home. They buried him in his father's tomb,[l] which was located between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Samson was a leader[m] of Israel for 20 years.
Micah Makes Idols and Hires a Priest
17 Micah[n] belonged to the Ephraim tribe and lived in the hill country. 2 One day he told his mother, “Do you remember those 1,100 pieces of silver[o] that were stolen from you? I was there when you put a curse on whoever stole them. Well, I'm the one who did it.”
His mother answered, “I pray that the Lord will bless[p] you, my son.”
3-4 Micah returned the silver to his mother, and she said, “I give this silver to the Lord, so my son can use it to make an idol.” Turning to her son, she said, “Micah, now the silver belongs to you.”
But Micah handed it back to his mother. She took 200 pieces[q] of the silver and gave them to a silver worker, who made them into an idol.[r] They kept the idol in Micah's house. 5 He had a shrine for worshiping God there at his home, and he had made some idols and a sacred priestly vest. Micah chose one of his own sons to be the priest for his shrine.
6 (A) This was before kings ruled Israel, so all the Israelites did whatever they thought was right.
7-8 One day a young Levite came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim. He had been staying with one of the clans of Judah in Bethlehem, but he had left Bethlehem to find a new place to live[s] where he could be a priest.[t]
9 “Where are you from?” Micah asked.
“I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” the man answered, “and I'm on my way to find a new place to live.”
10 Micah said, “Why don't you stay here with me? You can be my priest and tell me what God wants me to do. Every year I'll give you ten pieces of silver and one complete set of clothes, and I'll provide all your food.”
The young man went for a walk, 11-12 then he agreed to stay with Micah and be his priest. He lived in Micah's house, and Micah treated him like one of his own sons. 13 Micah said, “I have a Levite as my own priest. Now I know that the Lord will be kind to me.”
18 These things happened before kings ruled Israel.
The Tribe of Dan Takes Micah's Priest and Idols
About this time, the tribe of Dan was looking for a place to live. The other tribes had land, but the people of Dan did not really have any to call their own. 2 The tribe chose five warriors to represent their clans and told them, “Go and find some land where we can live.”
The warriors left the area of Zorah and Eshtaol and went into the hill country of Ephraim. One night they stayed at Micah's house, 3 because they heard the young Levite talking, and they knew from his accent that he was from the south. They asked him, “What are you doing here? Who brought you here?”
4 The Levite replied, “Micah hired me as his priest.” Then he told them how well Micah had treated him.
5 “Please talk to God for us,” the men said. “Ask God if we will be successful in what we are trying to do.”
6 “Don't worry,” answered the priest. “The Lord is pleased with what you are doing.”
7 The five men left and went to the town of Laish, whose people were from Sidon,[u] but Sidon was too far away to protect them. Even though their town had no walls, the people thought they were safe from attack. So they had not asked anyone else[v] for protection, which meant that the tribe of Dan could easily take over Laish.[w]
8 The five men went back to Zorah and Eshtaol, where their relatives asked, “Did you find any land?”
9-10 “Let's go!” the five men said. “We saw some very good land with enough room for all of us, and it has everything we will ever need. What are you waiting for? Let's attack and take it. You'll find that the people think they're safe, but God is giving the land to us.”
11 Six hundred men from the tribe of Dan strapped on their weapons and left Zorah and Eshtaol with their families.[x] 12 One night they camped near Kiriath-Jearim in the territory of Judah, and that's why the place just west of Kiriath-Jearim is still known as Dan's Camp.[y] 13 Then they went into the hill country of Ephraim.
When they came close to Micah's house, 14 the five men who had been spies asked the other warriors, “Did you know that someone in this village has several idols and a sacred priestly vest? What do you think we should do about it?”
15-18 The 600 warriors left the road and went to the house on Micah's property where the young Levite priest lived. They stood at the gate and greeted the priest. Meanwhile, the five men who had been there before went into Micah's house and took the sacred priestly vest and the idols.
“Hey!” the priest shouted. “What do you think you're doing?”
19 “Quiet!” the men said. “Keep your mouth shut and listen. Why don't you come with us and be our priest, so you can tell us what God wants us to do? You could stay here and be a priest for one man's family, but wouldn't you rather be the priest for a clan or even a whole tribe of Israel?”
20 The priest really liked that idea. So he took the vest and the idols and joined the others 21 from the tribe of Dan. Then they turned and left, after putting their children, their cattle, and the rest of their other possessions in front.
22 They had traveled for some time before Micah asked his neighbors to help him get his things back. He and his men caught up with the people of Dan 23 and shouted for them to stop.
They turned to face him and asked, “What's wrong? Why did you bring all these men?”
24 Micah answered, “You know what's wrong. You stole the gods[z] I made, and you took my priest. I don't have anything left.”
25 “We don't want to hear any more about it,” the people of Dan said. “And if you make us angry, you'll only get yourself and your family killed.” 26 After saying this, they turned and left.
Micah realized there was no way he could win a fight with them, and so he went back home.
The Tribe of Dan Captures Laish
27-28 The tribe of Dan took Micah's priest and the things Micah had made, and headed for Laish, which was located in a valley controlled by the town of Beth-Rehob. Laish was defenseless, because it had no walls and was too far from Sidon for the Sidonians to help defend it. The leaders of Laish had not even asked nearby towns to help them in case of an attack.
The warriors from Dan made a surprise attack on Laish, killing everyone and burning it down. Then they rebuilt the town and settled there themselves. 29 But they named it Dan, after one of Israel's[aa] sons, who was the ancestor of their tribe.
30-31 Even though the place of worship[ab] was in Shiloh, the people of Dan set up the idol Micah had made. They worshiped the idol, and the Levite was their priest. His name was Jonathan, and he was a descendant of Gershom the son of Moses.[ac] His descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan, until the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners by their enemies.
Footnotes
- 16.2 guardrooms … gate: The gate was often in a part of the town wall that was thicker and taller than the rest of the wall, and that had rooms where guards stayed when they were on duty.
- 16.3 Hebron: About 65 kilometers from Gaza.
- 16.5 Philistine rulers: There were five rulers, each one controlling part of Philistia.
- 16.5 silver: About 65 kilograms of silver altogether.
- 16.7 new bowstrings … dried: The string for a bow was often made from sinews or internal organs of animals. These strings were made while the animal tissues were still moist, and they became much stronger, once they were dry.
- 16.13 loom: A large wooden frame on which cloth is woven.
- 16.13,14 If you weave … to a wall: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation; Hebrew “Weave my braids into the threads on a loom. She nailed the loom to a wall.”
- 16.17 belonged to God: See the note at 13.3-5.
- 16.27 3,000: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation “700.”
- 16.27 They … him: Samson may have been in a courtyard visible from the roof.
- 16.28 one of my eyes: Or “my eyes.”
- 16.31 buried him in his father's tomb: Several family members were often buried in one tomb.
- 16.31 leader: See 2.16 and the note there.
- 17.1 Micah: The Hebrew also uses the longer form “Micaiah.”
- 17.2 1,100 … silver: About 12.5 kilograms.
- 17.2 curse … bless: A curse could not be taken back, but it could be made powerless by a blessing.
- 17.3,4 200 pieces: About 2.3 kilograms.
- 17.3,4 idol: Probably carved from wood and covered with the silver.
- 17.7,8 place to live: The people of the Levi tribe did not have a large area of land like the other tribes.
- 17.7,8 to find … priest: Or “and was on his way to find a new place to live.”
- 18.7 whose people … Sidon: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 18.7 anyone else: Hebrew; one ancient translation has “the Arameans,” who were a short distance to the north.
- 18.7 which … Laish: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 18.11 Eshtaol with their families: Hebrew “Eshtaol” (see verse 21).
- 18.12 Dan's Camp: See the note at 13.25.
- 18.24 gods: Or “god.”
- 18.29 Israel's: Israel was another name for Jacob, the father of the twelve ancestors of the tribes of Israel.
- 18.30,31 place of worship: The Hebrew text has “house of God,” which at this time was probably the sacred tent.
- 18.30,31 Moses: Some manuscripts of two ancient translations; the Standard Hebrew Text has “Manasseh,” but written in a special way that tells the reader “Moses” had been changed to “Manasseh.”
Judges 16-18
New International Version
Judges 16-18
New International Version
Samson and Delilah
16 One day Samson(A) went to Gaza,(B) where he saw a prostitute.(C) He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, “Samson is here!” So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate.(D) They made no move during the night, saying, “At dawn(E) we’ll kill him.”
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.(F)
4 Some time later, he fell in love(G) with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah.(H) 5 The rulers of the Philistines(I) went to her and said, “See if you can lure(J) him into showing you the secret of his great strength(K) and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels[a] of silver.”(L)
6 So Delilah(M) said to Samson, “Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued.”
7 Samson answered her, “If anyone ties me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room,(N) she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(O) But he snapped the bowstrings as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “You have made a fool of me;(P) you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied.”
11 He said, “If anyone ties me securely with new ropes(Q) that have never been used, I’ll become as weak as any other man.”
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(R) But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, “All this time you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied.”
He replied, “If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I’ll become as weak as any other man.” So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and[b] tightened it with the pin.
Again she called to him, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(S) He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’(T) when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time(U) you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.(V)” 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it.
17 So he told her everything.(W) “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite(X) dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines(Y), “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands.(Z) 19 After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him.[c] And his strength left him.(AA)
20 Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!”(AB)
He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him.(AC)
21 Then the Philistines(AD) seized him, gouged out his eyes(AE) and took him down to Gaza.(AF) Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain(AG) in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.
The Death of Samson
23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon(AH) their god and to celebrate, saying, “Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.”
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god,(AI) saying,
“Our god has delivered our enemy
into our hands,(AJ)
the one who laid waste our land
and multiplied our slain.”
25 While they were in high spirits,(AK) they shouted, “Bring out Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.
When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.” 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof(AL) were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the Lord,(AM) “Sovereign Lord, remember me. Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge(AN) on the Philistines for my two eyes.” 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
31 Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah(AO) his father. He had led[d](AP) Israel twenty years.(AQ)
Micah’s Idols
17 Now a man named Micah(AR) from the hill country of Ephraim 2 said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels[e] of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have that silver with me; I took it.”
Then his mother said, “The Lord bless you,(AS) my son!”
3 When he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I solemnly consecrate my silver to the Lord for my son to make an image overlaid with silver.(AT) I will give it back to you.”
4 So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels[f] of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol.(AU) And it was put in Micah’s house.
5 Now this man Micah had a shrine,(AV) and he made an ephod(AW) and some household gods(AX) and installed(AY) one of his sons as his priest.(AZ) 6 In those days Israel had no king;(BA) everyone did as they saw fit.(BB)
7 A young Levite(BC) from Bethlehem in Judah,(BD) who had been living within the clan of Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way[g] he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”
“I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,(BE)” he said, “and I’m looking for a place to stay.”
10 Then Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father(BF) and priest,(BG) and I’ll give you ten shekels[h] of silver a year, your clothes and your food.” 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 Then Micah installed(BH) the Levite, and the young man became his priest(BI) and lived in his house. 13 And Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since this Levite has become my priest.”(BJ)
The Danites Settle in Laish
18 In those days Israel had no king.(BK)
And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.(BL) 2 So the Danites(BM) sent five of their leading men(BN) from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out(BO) the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.”(BP)
So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah,(BQ) where they spent the night. 3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite;(BR) so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”
4 He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.(BS)”
5 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God(BT) to learn whether our journey will be successful.”
6 The priest answered them, “Go in peace(BU). Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”
7 So the five men(BV) left and came to Laish,(BW) where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure.(BX) And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous.[i] Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians(BY) and had no relationship with anyone else.[j]
8 When they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their fellow Danites asked them, “How did you find things?”
9 They answered, “Come on, let’s attack them! We have seen the land, and it is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over.(BZ) 10 When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing(CA) whatever.(CB)”
11 Then six hundred men(CC) of the Danites,(CD) armed for battle, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 On their way they set up camp near Kiriath Jearim(CE) in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh Dan[k](CF) to this day. 13 From there they went on to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.(CG)
14 Then the five men who had spied out the land of Laish(CH) said to their fellow Danites, “Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod,(CI) some household gods and an image overlaid with silver?(CJ) Now you know what to do.” 15 So they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah’s place and greeted him. 16 The six hundred Danites,(CK) armed for battle, stood at the entrance of the gate. 17 The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the idol, the ephod and the household gods(CL) while the priest and the six hundred armed men(CM) stood at the entrance of the gate.
18 When the five men went into Micah’s house and took(CN) the idol, the ephod and the household gods,(CO) the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
19 They answered him, “Be quiet!(CP) Don’t say a word. Come with us, and be our father and priest.(CQ) Isn’t it better that you serve a tribe and clan(CR) in Israel as priest rather than just one man’s household?” 20 The priest was very pleased. He took the ephod, the household gods and the idol and went along with the people. 21 Putting their little children, their livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.
22 When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites. 23 As they shouted after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, “What’s the matter with you that you called out your men to fight?”
24 He replied, “You took(CS) the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you ask, ‘What’s the matter with you?’”
25 The Danites answered, “Don’t argue with us, or some of the men may get angry and attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.” 26 So the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for him,(CT) turned around and went back home.
27 Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on to Laish, against a people at peace and secure.(CU) They attacked them with the sword and burned(CV) down their city.(CW) 28 There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon(CX) and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.(CY)
The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there. 29 They named it Dan(CZ) after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city used to be called Laish.(DA) 30 There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom,(DB) the son of Moses,[l] and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. 31 They continued to use the idol Micah had made,(DC) all the time the house of God(DD) was in Shiloh.(DE)
Footnotes
- Judges 16:5 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms
- Judges 16:14 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew replied, “I can if you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom.” 14 So she
- Judges 16:19 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and he began to weaken
- Judges 16:31 Traditionally judged
- Judges 17:2 That is, about 28 pounds or about 13 kilograms
- Judges 17:4 That is, about 5 pounds or about 2.3 kilograms
- Judges 17:8 Or To carry on his profession
- Judges 17:10 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
- Judges 18:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Judges 18:7 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts with the Arameans
- Judges 18:12 Mahaneh Dan means Dan’s camp.
- Judges 18:30 Many Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate; many other Hebrew manuscripts and some other Septuagint manuscripts Manasseh
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