Judges 5:21-23

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Judges 5:21 tn Possibly “the ancient river,” but it seems preferable in light of the parallel line (which has a verb) to emend the word (attested only here) to a verb (קָדַם, qadam) with pronominal object suffix.
2. Judges 5:21 tn This line is traditionally taken as the poet-warrior’s self-exhortation, “March on, my soul, in strength!” The present translation (a) takes the verb (a second feminine singular form) as addressed to Deborah (cf. v. 12), (b) understands נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) in its well-attested sense of “throat; neck” (cf. Jonah 2:6), (c) takes the final yod (י) on נַפְשִׁי (nafshi) as an archaic construct indicator (rather than a suffix), and (d) interprets עֹז (ʿoz, “strength”) as an attributive genitive (literally, “necks of strength,” i.e., “strong necks”). For fuller discussion and various proposals, see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 270-71.
3. Judges 5:22 tc The MT as it stands has a singular noun, but if one moves the prefixed mem (מ) from the beginning of the next word to the end of סוּס (sus), the expected plural form is achieved. Another possibility is to understand an error of scribal haplography here, in which case the letter mem should appear in both places.
4. Judges 5:22 tn The words “the ground” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarification.
5. Judges 5:22 tn Heb “galloped, galloped.” The repetition is for emphasis and is more appropriately indicated in English with an adverb.
6. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “Curse Meroz.”
7. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “Curse, cursing.” The Hebrew construction is emphatic.
8. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “[to] curse.”
9. Judges 5:23 tn Heb “to the help of the Lord” (the same Hebrew phrase occurs in the following line). Another option is to read “to aid the Lord’s cause.”
10. Judges 5:23 tn Or “along with the other warriors.”