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A Monotonous Cycle

11 The Israelites did evil before[a] the Lord by worshiping[b] the Baals. 12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors[c] who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods—the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped[d] them and made the Lord angry. 13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.[e]

14 The Lord was furious with Israel[f] and handed them over to robbers who plundered them.[g] He turned them over to[h] their enemies who lived around them. They could no longer withstand their enemies’ attacks.[i] 15 Whenever they went out to fight,[j] the Lord did them harm,[k] just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do.[l] They suffered greatly.[m]

16 The Lord raised up leaders[n] who delivered them from these robbers.[o] 17 But they did not obey[p] their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped[q] them. They quickly turned aside from the path[r] their ancestors[s] had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not.[t] 18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people[u] from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them[v] when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them.[w] 19 When a leader died, the next generation[x] would again[y] act more wickedly than the previous one.[z] They would follow after other gods, worshiping them[aa] and bowing down to them. They did not give up[ab] their practices or their stubborn ways.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 2:11 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  2. Judges 2:11 tn Or “serving”; or “following.”
  3. Judges 2:12 tn Or “fathers.”
  4. Judges 2:12 tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).
  5. Judges 2:13 sn The Ashtoreths were local manifestations of the goddess Astarte.
  6. Judges 2:14 tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”
  7. Judges 2:14 tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)sn The expression robbers who plundered them is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.
  8. Judges 2:14 tn Heb “sold them into the hand of.”
  9. Judges 2:14 tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  10. Judges 2:15 tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.
  11. Judges 2:15 tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”
  12. Judges 2:15 tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”
  13. Judges 2:15 tn Or “they experienced great distress.”
  14. Judges 2:16 tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”
  15. Judges 2:16 tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”
  16. Judges 2:17 tn Or “did not listen to.”
  17. Judges 2:17 tn Or “bowed before.”
  18. Judges 2:17 tn Or “way [of life].”
  19. Judges 2:17 tn Or “fathers.”
  20. Judges 2:17 tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”
  21. Judges 2:18 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. Judges 2:18 tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  23. Judges 2:18 tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.
  24. Judges 2:19 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. Judges 2:19 tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.
  26. Judges 2:19 tn Heb “their fathers.”sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).
  27. Judges 2:19 tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”
  28. Judges 2:19 tn Or “drop.”

The Rise of the Judges

11 So the Israelis practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by worshiping Canaanite deities.[a] 12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who surrounded them. They bowed down in worship of them, and by doing so angered the Lord. 13 As a result, they abandoned the Lord by serving both Baal[b] and Ashtaroth.[c] 14 So in his burning anger against Israel, the Lord gave them into the domination of marauders who plundered them. The enemies who surrounded the Israelis[d] controlled them, and they were no longer able to withstand their adversaries. 15 Wherever they went, the Lord worked[e] against them to bring misfortune, just as the Lord had warned, and just as the Lord had promised them. As a result, they suffered greatly.

16 Then the Lord raised up leaders,[f] who delivered Israel[g] from domination by their marauders. 17 But they didn’t listen to their leaders, because they were committing spiritual immorality by following other gods and worshiping them. They quickly turned away from the road on which their ancestors had walked in obedience to the commands of the Lord. They didn’t follow their example. 18 As a result, whenever the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord remained present with their leader, delivering Israel[h] from the control of their enemies during the lifetime of that leader. The Lord[i] was moved with compassion by their groaning that had been caused by those who were oppressing and persecuting them. 19 However, after the leader had died, they would relapse to a condition more corrupt than their ancestors, following other gods, serving them, and worshiping them. They would not abandon their activities or their obstinate lifestyles.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 2:11 Lit. worshiping the Baals
  2. Judges 2:13 I.e. the supreme male deity of the Canaanites
  3. Judges 2:13 I.e. various female deities of the Canaanites
  4. Judges 2:14 Lit. them
  5. Judges 2:15 Lit. the hand of the Lord was
  6. Judges 2:16 Or judges; and so throughout the chapter
  7. Judges 2:16 Lit. them
  8. Judges 2:18 Lit. them
  9. Judges 2:18 Lit. For he