Judges 2:11-21

Israel's Unfaithfulness

11 ¹And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.

12 ²And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. ³They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and ⁴bowed down to them. ⁵And they provoked the LORD to anger.

13 They abandoned the LORD ⁶and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

14 ⁷So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he ⁸gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. ⁹And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, ¹⁰so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.

15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, ¹¹and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

The Lord Raises Up Judges

16 ¹²Then the LORD raised up judges, ¹³who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for ¹⁴they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. ¹⁵They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD, and they did not do so.

18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, ¹⁶the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. ¹⁷For the LORD was moved to pity by ¹⁸their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.

19 But ¹⁹whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

20 ²⁰So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, "Because this people ²¹has transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice,

21 ²²I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died,

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Judges 2:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 2

This chapter gives an account of an angel of the Lord appearing and rebuking the children of Israel for their present misconduct, Jud 2:1-5; of their good behaviour under Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Jud 2:6-10; and of their idolatries they fell into afterwards, which greatly provoked the Lord to anger, Jud 2:11-15; and of the goodness of God to them nevertheless, in raising up judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, of which there are many instances in the following chapter, Jud 2:16-18; and yet that how, upon the demise of such persons, they relapsed into idolatry which caused the anger of God to be hot against them, and to determine not to drive out the Canaanites utterly from them, but to leave them among them to try them, Jud 2:19-23.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 22

1. Judges 3:7; Judges 4:1; Judges 6:1; Judges 10:6; Judges 13:1
2. Deuteronomy 31:16
3. [Deuteronomy 6:14]
4. ver. 17, 19; [Exodus 20:5]
5. Deuteronomy 31:29
6. Judges 3:7; Judges 10:6; Psalms 106:36; [1 Samuel 7:4]
7. ver. 20
8. 2 Kings 17:20
9. Judges 3:8; Judges 4:2; [Deuteronomy 32:30; 1 Samuel 12:9]
10. Leviticus 26:37; Joshua 7:12, 13
11. See Leviticus 26:14-46; Deuteronomy 28:15-68
12. Judges 3:9, 15; 1 Samuel 12:11; Acts 13:20
13. Judges 3:31; Judges 10:1, 12, 13; Judges 12:2, 3; Judges 13:5; [Judges 3:9; Nehemiah 9:27]
14. Judges 8:33; Exodus 34:15
15. Deuteronomy 9:12
16. [Joshua 1:5]
17. Genesis 6:6; Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalms 106:45; Jeremiah 18:8; Jeremiah 26:3; [Numbers 23:19]
18. Exodus 2:24; Exodus 6:5
19. [Judges 3:12; Judges 4:1; Judges 6:1; Judges 8:33]
20. ver. 14
21. Deuteronomy 17:2; Joshua 23:16
22. ver. 3; Joshua 23:13

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.