Judges 2:13 (DRB)

Passage

Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth

Nearby Context

Judges 2:11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served Baalim

Judges 2:12 And they left the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt: and they followed strange gods, and the gods of the people that dwelt round about them, and they adored them: and they provoked the Lord to anger,

Judges 2:13 Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth

Judges 2:14 And the Lord being angry against Israel, delivered them into the hands of plunderers: who took them and sold them to their enemies, that dwelt round about: neither could they stand against their enemies:

Judges 2:15 But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "forsaking", "serving", "baal", and "astaroth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "forsaking" and "serving", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "And they left the Lord the God..." into verse 14's "And the Lord being angry against Israel...", so "forsaking" and "serving" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "forsaking" and "serving" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.