³³ No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.^(A) They set up Baal-Berith^(B) as their god^(C)

⁴⁶ On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple^(A) of El-Berith.

⁴ They gave him seventy shekels^[a] of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith,^(A) and Abimelek used it to hire reckless scoundrels,^(B) who became his followers.

¹⁹ But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt^(A) than those of their ancestors,^(B) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.^(C) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn^(D) ways.

²⁷ Gideon made the gold into an ephod,^(A) which he placed in Ophrah,^(B) his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare^(C) to Gideon and his family.^(D)

¹⁷ Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted^(A) themselves to other gods^(B) and worshiped them.^(C) They quickly turned^(D) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.^(E)

⁹ Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land^(A) and committed adultery^(B) with stone^(C) and wood.^(D)

The Wickedness of Joash

¹⁷ After the death of Jehoiada, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them. ¹⁸ They abandoned^(A) the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols.^(B) Because of their guilt, God’s anger^(C) came on Judah and Jerusalem.

² Joash did what was right^(A) in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him.