Judges 2:17

Judges 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.
• New International Version (NIV)Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so.

Context of Judges 2:17

15When the Israelites went to fight against their enemies, the Lord turned against them. He punished them, as he said he would do. So the Israelites were in great trouble. 16After that, the Lord chose judges to lead his people. These leaders rescued the Israelites from their enemies who were robbing them. But the people did not obey their leaders. They refused to serve the Lord faithfully. Instead, they worshipped false gods. They did not live in the way that their ancestors had lived. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they refused to obey him. 18Every time that the Lord chose a judge to lead them, the Lord helped the leader to rescue them from their enemies. While the leader was still alive, the Lord was kind to them. When the Israelites called out to the Lord for help, he was sorry for them. He saw the cruel things that their enemies were doing to give them pain. 19But when the leader died, the people would stop serving the Lord. They would do even more wicked things than their fathers had done. They would serve false gods and they would worship them. They refused to stop doing the wicked things that they wanted to do.

Judges 2:17 word by word

וְגַ֤ם אֶל־שֹֽׁפְטֵיהֶם֙ לֹ֣א שָׁמֵ֔עוּ כִּ֣י זָנ֗וּ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם סָ֣רוּ מַהֵ֗ר מִן־הַדֶּ֜רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָלְכ֧וּ אֲבוֹתָ֛ם לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ מִצְוֹת־יְהוָ֖ה לֹא־עָ֥שׂוּ כֵֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And yet they would not hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085
• unto their judgesשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• but they went a whoringזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and bowedשָׁחָהshâchâh · to bowH7812
• themselves unto them: they turnedסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: turn asideH5493
• quicklyמַהֵרmahêr · quicklyH4118
• out of the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• which their fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• walked inהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
• the commandmentsמִצְוָהmitsvâh · commandmentH4687
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• they didעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for Judges 2:17

• 1 Samuel 8:5They said to him, ‘You are old. Your sons do not live in the way that you have done. All the other nations have kings to lead them. So choose a king to rule over us, like they have.’
• 1 Samuel 12:12But then you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was coming to attack you. So you said to me, “Now we want a king to rule over us.” You forgot that the Lord your God is your king.
• 2 Chronicles 36:15The Lord sent his servants many times to warn his people. He wanted to be kind to them. He wanted to keep his temple safe.
• Psalms 106:43Many times, the Lord rescued his people, but they had decided not to obey him. Their sins made them weaker and weaker.
• Exodus 34:15Be careful not to make an agreement with the people who live in that land. They have turned away to worship their own gods. They offer sacrifices to their gods. When they do that, they may ask you to join with them. Then you will eat the food that they have offered to their gods.
• Leviticus 17:7The people give sacrifices in the fields to worship idols that seem like goats. They must never do this again. This rule is for now and for all time.
• Psalms 73:27Those people who stay far away from you will die. You destroy everybody who turns away from you.
• Psalms 106:39The things that the Lord's people did made them unclean. They were not faithful to the Lord, like a wife who is not faithful to her husband.
• Hosea 2:2My children, warn your mother! She is no longer my wife. I am not her husband. Tell her that she must stop living like a prostitute. She must stop having sex with other men instead of me.
• Revelation 17:1One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls came to me. ‘Come with me,’ he said. ‘I will show you how God will punish the great prostitute. She sits at a place where there are many rivers.
• Exodus 32:8They have already turned away from my commands. They have made for themselves an image of a calf. They have bent down low to worship it. They have made sacrifices to give it honour. They are saying, “This is the god of the Israelites, the god who brought us out of Egypt!” ’
• Deuteronomy 9:12Then the Lord said to me, ‘Now go down the mountain! The people that you led out of Egypt have done something very bad. They have already refused to obey my commands. They have used gold to make an idol for themselves.’
• Galatians 1:6I am very surprised that you are turning away so soon from God. He is the one who chose you to come to him. He did that because Christ is very kind to you. But now you want to accept a different message which some people call good news.
• Judges 2:7The Israelites continued to serve the Lord while Joshua and the old men were still alive. Joshua and those men had seen the great things that the Lord had done to help Israel.
• Joshua 24:24The people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey him.’

Commentaries on Judges 2:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Went a whoring after other gods - Idolatry, or the worship of strange gods, is frequently termed adultery, fornication, and whoredom, in the sacred writings. As many of their idolatrous practices were accompanied with impure rites, the term was not only metaphorically but literally proper.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-23Verses 6-23 We have a general idea of the course of things in Israel, during the time of the Judges. The nation made themselves as mean and miserable by forsaking God, as they would have been great and happy if they had continued faithful to him. Their punishment answered to the evil they had done. They served the gods of the nations round about them, even the meanest, and God made them serve the princes of the nations round about them, even the meanest…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-19The Lord appointed judges who led to some temporary recovery. People later described them as "judging" Israel (for example, Judges 3:10; 4:4; 10:2–3), but they were mainly famous for their military successes.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-1911-19. the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord--This chapter, together with the first eight verses of the next [Jud 2:11-3:8], contains a brief but comprehensive summary of the principles developed in the following history. An attentive consideration of them, therefore, is of the greatest importance to a right understanding of the strange and varying phases of Israelitish history, from the death of Joshua till the establishment of the…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 2:17

• Baal
• Character
• Instability
• Israel
• Judge
• Whoredom

In the dictionaries

• Raise
• Sell
• Abdon (1)
• Judges, Book of
• faithful, faithfulness, trustworthy

Commentaries on Judges 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings