¹¹ The people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals, ¹² and they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them. They bowed down to them, and they angered the Lord. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtartes.^[a]

¹⁴ So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of raiders, who plundered them. He sold them into the hand of their enemies around them, and they were not able to stand up in the face of their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever the men of Israel went out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring disaster on them, just as the Lord had said to them and just as the Lord had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.

¹⁶ Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges,^[b] who saved them from the hand of those who plundered them, ¹⁷ but they did not listen even to the judges! Instead, they prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way in which their fathers, who had obeyed the commands of the Lord, had once walked. This generation did not act the same way their fathers had acted.

¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, the Lord was with that judge and saved them from their enemies during all the days of that judge, because the Lord had compassion when he heard their groaning under their tormenters and oppressors.

¹⁹ But then, after the death of the judge, Israel would turn back and become more corrupt than their fathers by going after other gods, by serving them, and by worshipping them. They refused to let go of their practices and their shameless ways.