Judges 2:11-23

Israel Serves Baals

11 Then the sons of Israel did ¹evil in the sight of the LORD and served the ²Baals,

12 and ³they 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 ⁴served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

14 ⁵The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and ⁶He 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 ⁷as the LORD had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

16 ⁸Then the LORD raised up judges 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 ⁹in 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, ¹⁰the LORD was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD was ¹¹moved 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 ¹²So 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,

21 ¹³I also will no longer drive out before * them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died,

22 in order to ¹⁴test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it as their fathers did, or not."

23 So the LORD allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Judges 2:11-23 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.

Cross References

• 1. Judges 3:7, 12; Judges 4:1; Judges 6:1
• 2. Judges 6:25; Judges 8:33; Judges 10:6
• 3. Deuteronomy 31:16
• 4. Judges 10:6
• 5. Deuteronomy 31:17; Psalms 106:40-42
• 6. Deuteronomy 28:25; Deuteronomy 32:30
• 7. Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 28:15-68
• 8. Psalms 106:43-45
• 9. Judges 2:7
• 10. Joshua 1:5
• 11. Deuteronomy 32:36; Psalms 106:44
• 12. Judges 2:14
• 13. Josh 23:4, 5, 13
• 14. Deuteronomy 8:2; Deuteronomy 13:3

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "worshiped"
• [b]. Lit "and they"
• [c]. Lit "kept"