New King James Version
Judges 2:17
17Yet 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
Context of Judges 2:17
15Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed. 16Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 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. 18And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. 19And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.
Read all of Judges 2Judges 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 8:5and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
- 1 Samuel 12:12And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your God was your king.
- 2 Chronicles 36:15And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place.
- Psalms 106:43Many times He delivered them; But they rebelled in their counsel, And were brought low for their iniquity.
- Exodus 34:15lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,
- Leviticus 17:7They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.” ’
- Psalms 73:27For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish; You have destroyed all those who desert You for harlotry.
- Psalms 106:39Thus they were defiled by their own works, And played the harlot by their own deeds.
- Hosea 2:2“Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, And her adulteries from between her breasts;
- Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters,
- Exodus 32:8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ”
- Deuteronomy 9:12“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’
- Galatians 1:6I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
- Judges 2:7So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
- Joshua 24:24And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!”
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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries