Discovery BoxJudges 2:13-15 
Context2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. 1
2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel 2 and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. 3 He turned them over to 4 their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. 5 2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, 6 the Lord did them harm, 7 just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. 8 They suffered greatly. 9
1 tn Some English translations simply transliterate the plural Hebrew term (“Ashtaroth,” cf. NAB, NASB), pluralize the transliterated Hebrew singular form (“Ashtoreths,” cf. NIV), or use a variation of the name (“Astartes,” cf. NRSV).
sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Astarte.
2 tn Or “The
3 tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)
sn The expression robbers who plundered them is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.
4 tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”
5 tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
6 tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.
7 tn Heb “the
8 tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”
9 tn Or “they experienced great distress.”
