Judges 2:10-17

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 

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁹  and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. ¹⁰  He turned them over to ¹¹  their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. ¹²  2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, ¹³  the Lord did them harm, ¹⁴  just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. ¹⁵  They suffered greatly. ¹⁶ 

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ¹⁷  who delivered them from these robbers. ¹⁸  2:17 But they did not obey ¹⁹  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ²⁰  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ²¹  their ancestors ²²  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ²³ 

[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).

[2:14]  ¹³ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

[2:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[2:14]  ¹⁶ tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:15]  ¹⁶ tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

[2:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

[2:16]  ¹⁹ tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”

[2:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[2:17]  ²² tn Or “did not listen to.”

[2:17]  ²³ tn Or “bowed before.”

[2:17]  ²⁴ tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:17]  ²⁵ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:17]  ²⁶ tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”