Judges 2:7-10

2:7 The people worshiped ¹  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ²  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ³  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁴  2:8 Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 2:9 The people ⁵  buried him in his allotted land ⁶  in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 2:10 That entire generation passed away; ⁷  a new generation grew up ⁸  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ⁹ 

Judges 2:17

2:17 But they did not obey ¹⁰  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ¹¹  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ¹²  their ancestors ¹³  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ¹⁴ 

Judges 2:19

2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ¹⁵  would again ¹⁶  act more wickedly than the previous one. ¹⁷  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ¹⁸  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ¹⁹  their practices or their stubborn ways.

¹ tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

² tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

³ tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

⁴ tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

⁷ tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

⁸ tn Heb “arose after them.”

⁹ tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.

¹⁰ tn Or “did not listen to.”

¹¹ tn Or “bowed before.”

¹² tn Or “way [of life].”

¹³ tn Or “fathers.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn Heb “their fathers.”

¹⁸ tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

¹⁹ tn Or “drop.”