Judges 2:10-13

2:10 That entire generation passed away; ¹  a new generation grew up ²  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ³ 

A Monotonous Cycle

2:11 The Israelites did evil before ⁴  the Lord by worshiping ⁵  the Baals. 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors ⁶  who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped ⁷  them and made the Lord angry. 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. ⁸ 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “arose after them.”

[2:10]  ³ 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.

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[2:11]  ⁵ tn Or “serving”; or “following.”

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

[2:13]  ¹⁰ tn Some English translations simply transliterate the plural Hebrew term (“Ashtaroth,” cf. NAB, NASB), pluralize the transliterated Hebrew singular form (“Ashtoreths,” cf. NIV), or use a variation of the name (“Astartes,” cf. NRSV).