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  2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, ¹⁰  the Lord did them harm, ¹¹  just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. ¹²  They suffered greatly. ¹³ 

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ¹⁴  who delivered them from these robbers. ¹⁵  2:17 But they did not obey ¹⁶  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ¹⁷  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ¹⁸  their ancestors ¹⁹  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ²⁰  2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people ²¹  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them ²²  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. ²³  2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ²⁴  would again ²⁵  act more wickedly than the previous one. ²⁶  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ²⁷  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ²⁸  their practices or their stubborn ways.