Hakim-hakim 2:11-14

A Monotonous Cycle

2:11 The Israelites did evil before ¹  the Lord by worshiping ²  the Baals. 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors ³  who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped ⁴  them and made the Lord angry. 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. ⁵ 

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel ⁶  and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. ⁷  He turned them over to ⁸  their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. ⁹ 

[2:11]  ¹ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

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

[2:12]  ³ tn Or “fathers.”

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

[2:13]  ⁵ 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).

[2:13]  sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Astarte.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

[2:14]  sn The expression robbers who plundered them is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[2:14]  ⁹ tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.