Israel Serves Baals

¹¹ Then the sons of Israel did ^(A)evil in the sight of the Lord and ^[a]served the ^(B)Baals, ¹² and ^(C)they forsook the Lord, 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 the Lord to anger. ¹³ So they forsook the Lord and ^(D)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (E)The anger of the Lord 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 the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and ^(G)as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

^16 (H)Then the Lord raised up judges ^[b]who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, 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 the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. ¹⁸ When the Lord raised up judges for them, ^(J)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was ^(K)moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. ¹⁹ But it came about 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 the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice,

^5 (A)The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; ⁶ and ^(B)they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

⁷ The sons of Israel did ^(C)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(D)forgot the Lord their God and ^(E)served the Baals and the ^[a]Asheroth. ⁸ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of ^[b]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

The First Judge Delivers Israel

⁹ When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, ^(F)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ^10 (G)The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of ^[c]Mesopotamia into his hand, so that ^[d]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.