¹⁶ Nevertheless, ^(A)the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they ^(B)played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. ¹⁸ And when the Lord raised up judges for them, ^(C)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; ^(D)for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them.

The Way of the Righteous and the End of the Ungodly

⁹ And when they ^(A)forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of ^(B)Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the ^(C)Philistines, and into the hand of the king of ^(D)Moab; and they fought against them. ¹⁰ Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, ^(E)‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^(F)and served the Baals and ^[a]Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ And the Lord sent ^[b]Jerubbaal, ^[c]Bedan, ^(G)Jephthah, and ^(H)Samuel,^[d] and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety.

¹⁹ Now ^(A)there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.”

⁵ For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were ^[a]without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.