Judges 17:2-4
New English Translation
2 He said to his mother, “You know[a] the 1,100 pieces of silver which were stolen[b] from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole[c] it, but now I am giving it back to you.”[d] His mother said, “May the Lord reward[e] you, my son!” 3 When he gave back to his mother the 1,100 pieces of silver, his mother said, “I solemnly dedicate[f] this silver to the Lord. It will be for my son’s benefit. We will use it to make a carved image and a metal image.”[g] 4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she[h] took 200 pieces of silver[i] to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a metal image. She then put them in Micah’s house.[j]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 17:2 tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Judges 17:2 tn Heb “taken.”
- Judges 17:2 tn Heb “took.”
- Judges 17:2 tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the Lord, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.
- Judges 17:2 tn Traditionally, “bless.”
- Judges 17:3 tn Heb “dedicating, I dedicate.” In this case the emphatic infinitive absolute lends a mood of solemnity to the statement.
- Judges 17:3 tn Heb “to the Lord from my hand for my son to make a carved image and cast metal image.” She cannot mean that she is now taking the money from her hand and giving it back to her son so he can make an image. Verses 4-6 indicate she took back the money and used a portion of it to hire a silversmith to make an idol for her son to use. The phrase “a carved image and cast metal image” is best taken as referring to two idols (see 18:17-18), even though the verb at the end of v. 4, וַיְהִי (vayehi, “and it was [in the house of Micah]”), is singular.
- Judges 17:4 tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.
- Judges 17:4 tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 17:4 tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”
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