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Judges 10
New English Translation

Stability Restored

10 After Abimelech’s death,[a] Tola son of Puah, grandson[b] of Dodo, from the tribe of Issachar,[c] rose up to deliver Israel. He lived in Shamir in the Ephraimite hill country. 2 He led[d] Israel for twenty-three years, then died and was buried in Shamir.

3 Jair the Gileadite rose up after him; he led Israel for twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys and possessed thirty cities. To this day these towns are called Havvoth Jair[e]—they are in the land of Gilead.[f] 5 Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

The Lord’s Patience Runs Short

6 The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight.[g] They worshiped[h] the Baals and the Ashtoreths,[i] as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines.[j] They abandoned the Lord and did not worship[k] him. 7 The Lord was furious with Israel[l] and turned them over to[m] the Philistines and Ammonites. 8 They ruthlessly oppressed[n] the Israelites that eighteenth year[o]—that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.[p] Israel suffered greatly.[q]

10 The Israelites cried out for help to the Lord: “We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped[r] the Baals.” 11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian[s] when they oppressed you?[t] You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power.[u] 13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped[v] other gods, I will not deliver you again. 14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!”[w] 15 But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit,[x] but deliver us today!”[y] 16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned[z] and worshiped[aa] the Lord. Finally the Lord grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much.[ab]

An Outcast Becomes a General

17 The Ammonites assembled[ac] and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 18 The leaders[ad] of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge[ae] against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Footnotes

  1. Judges 10:1 tn The word “death” has been supplied in the translation for clarification.
  2. Judges 10:1 tn Heb “son.”
  3. Judges 10:1 tn Heb “a man of Issachar.”
  4. Judges 10:2 tn Traditionally, “judged.”
  5. Judges 10:4 sn The name Habboth Jair means “tent villages of Jair” in Hebrew.
  6. Judges 10:4 tn Heb “they call them Havvoth Jair to this day—which are in the land of Gilead.”
  7. Judges 10:6 tn Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.”
  8. Judges 10:6 tn Or “served;” or “followed.”
  9. Judges 10:6 sn The Ashtoreths were local manifestations of the goddess Astarte.
  10. Judges 10:6 tn Heb “the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines.”
  11. Judges 10:6 tn Or “serve”; or “follow.”
  12. Judges 10:7 tn Or “the Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”
  13. Judges 10:7 tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
  14. Judges 10:8 tn Heb “shattered and crushed.” The repetition of similar sounding synonyms (רָעַץ [raʿats] and רָצַץ [ratsats]) is for emphasis; רָצַץ appears in the Polel, adding further emphasis to the affirmation.
  15. Judges 10:8 tn The phrase שְׁמֹנֶה עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה (shemoneh ʿesreh shanah) could be translated “eighteen years,” but this would be difficult after the reference to “that year.” It is possible that v. 8b is parenthetical, referring to an eighteen year long period of oppression east of the Jordan which culminated in hostilities against all Israel (including Judah, see v. 9) in the eighteenth year. It is simpler to translate the phrase as an ordinal number, though the context does not provide the point of reference. (See Gen 14:4-5 and R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 191-92.) In this case, the following statement specifies which “Israelites” are in view.
  16. Judges 10:9 tn Heb “the house of Ephraim.”
  17. Judges 10:9 tn Or “Israel experienced great distress.” Perhaps here the verb has the nuance “hemmed in.”
  18. Judges 10:10 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
  19. Judges 10:12 tc The translation follows the LXX which reads “Midian”; the Hebrew text has “Maon.”
  20. Judges 10:12 tn The words “Did I not deliver you” are interpretive. The Hebrew text simply reads, “Is it not from Egypt…when they oppressed you?” Perhaps the incomplete sentence reflects the Lord’s frustration.
  21. Judges 10:12 tn Heb “hand.”
  22. Judges 10:13 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
  23. Judges 10:14 tn Heb “in your time of trouble.”
  24. Judges 10:15 tn Heb “according to all whatever is good in your eyes.”
  25. Judges 10:15 sn You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today. The request seems contradictory, but it can be explained in one of two ways. They may be asking for relief from their enemies and direct discipline from God’s hand. Or they may mean, “In the future you can do whatever you like to us, but give us relief from what we’re suffering right now.”
  26. Judges 10:16 tn Heb “from their midst.”
  27. Judges 10:16 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
  28. Judges 10:16 tn Heb “And his spirit grew short [i.e., impatient] with the suffering of Israel.” The Hebrew noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) also appears as the subject of the verb קָצַר (qatsar) in Num 21:4 (the Israelites grow impatient wandering in the wilderness), Judg 16:16 (Samson grows impatient with Delilah’s constant nagging), and Zech 11:8 (Zechariah grows impatient with the three negligent “shepherds”).
  29. Judges 10:17 tn Or “were summoned;” or “were mustered.”
  30. Judges 10:18 tn Heb “the people, the officers.”
  31. Judges 10:18 tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”
Close LSB

Judges 10
Legacy Standard Bible

Tola and Jair Judge Israel

10 Then after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, (A)arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir.

3 After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities [a]in the land of Gilead (B)that are called [b]Havvoth-jair to this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.

Israel Forsakes Yahweh Again

6 Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and (C)served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, (D)the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus (E)they forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him. 7 So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He (F)sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. 8 And they shattered and smashed the sons of Israel [c]that year; for eighteen years they did this to all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan [d]in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. 9 Then the sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed.

Israel Cries Out to Yahweh

10 And the (G)sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.” 11 Then Yahweh said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you (H)from the Egyptians, (I)the Amorites, (J)the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? 12 Also the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites (K)oppressed you. And you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hand. 13 Yet (L)you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14 (M)Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 Then the sons of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned, so You, (N)do to us whatever seems good in Your eyes; only please deliver us this day.” 16 (O)So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh; and [e](P)He could bear the trouble of Israel no longer.

17 Then the sons of Ammon were summoned, and they camped in Gilead. And the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in (Q)Mizpah. 18 And the people, the princes of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Footnotes

  1. Judges 10:4 Lit which are in
  2. Judges 10:4 Lit the towns of Jair
  3. Judges 10:8 Lit in that
  4. Judges 10:8 Lit which is in
  5. Judges 10:16 Lit His soul was short with the trouble
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