Israel Serves Baals

¹¹ Then the sons of Israel did ^(A)what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and ^[a]served the ^(B)Baals, ¹² and ^(C)they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked Yahweh to anger. ¹³ So they forsook Yahweh and ^(D)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (E)And the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and ^(F)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵ Wherever they went, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken and ^(G)as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

Yahweh Raises Up Judges

^16 (H)Then Yahweh raised up judges ^[b]who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges either, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way ^(I)in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of Yahweh; they did not do as their fathers. ¹⁸ Now when Yahweh raised up judges for them, ^(J)Yahweh was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Yahweh was ^(K)moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and suppressed them. ¹⁹ But it happened when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. ^20 (L)So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has trespassed against My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, ^21 (M)I also will no longer dispossess before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, ²² in order to ^(N)test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of Yahweh to walk in it as their fathers ^[c]did, or not.” ²³ So Yahweh allowed those nations to rest, not dispossessing them quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.