Judges 2:13 (YLT)

Passage

yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth.

Nearby Context

Judges 2:11 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim,

Judges 2:12 and forsake Jehovah, God of their fathers, who bringeth them out from the land of Egypt, and go after other gods (of the gods of the peoples who <FI>are<Fi> round about them), and bow themselves to them, and provoke Jehovah,

Judges 2:13 yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth.

Judges 2:14 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He giveth them into the hand of spoilers, and they spoil them, and He selleth them into the hand of their enemies round about, and they have not been able any more to stand before their enemies;

Judges 2:15 in every <FI>place<Fi> where they have gone out, the hand of Jehovah hath been against them for evil, as Jehovah hath spoken, and as Jehovah hath sworn to them, and they are distressed--greatly.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "and forsake Jehovah God of their fathers..." into verse 14's "And the anger of Jehovah burneth against...", so "forsake" and "jehovah" 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 "forsake" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.