Judges 8:33

Israel Returns to Baal-Worship

8:33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith ¹  their god.

Deuteronomy 7:16

Exhortation to Destroy Canaanite Paganism

7:16 You must destroy ²  all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship ³  their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

[8:33]  ¹ sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.

[7:16]  ² tn Heb “devour” (so NRSV); KJV, NAB, NASB “consume.” The verbal form (a perfect with vav consecutive) is understood here as having an imperatival or obligatory nuance (cf. the instructions and commands that follow). Another option is to take the statement as a continuation of the preceding conditional promises and translate “and you will destroy.”

[7:16]  ³ tn Or “serve” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).