Bible Strands
Judges 2:12
Thus they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed after various gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Israel’s collective apostasy immediately after noting their service to the Baals, describing a generational shift following the Exodus. The text frames their abandonment of Yahweh, the God who delivered them from Egypt, as a direct turn toward the surrounding nations' deities.
The words — The verb וַיַּעַזְבוּ (wa-ya‘azᵊḇū) translates literally as “and they forsook,” denoting a decisive abandonment of covenant relationship. The participle הַמּוֹצִיא (ha-mōṣi’) identifies Yahweh as “the one bringing out,” anchoring the breach to the specific act of deliverance from Egypt.
The thread — The sequence of forsaking the deliverer and bowing to foreign gods appears in Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 6:14, which prohibit following or worshiping the deities of surrounding nations. The narrative structure aligns with the covenant indictment pattern established in the Torah.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that idolatry is not merely ritual error but a rejection of the God who initiated salvation. It presents a clear causal link between abandoning exclusive allegiance and provoking divine judgment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.
Cross-references
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Deuteronomy 6:14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you.
- Deuteronomy 13:5 Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 29:25 And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Deuteronomy 29:18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,
- Deuteronomy 31:16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Deuteronomy 33:17 His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.”
- Judges 5:8 When they chose new gods, then war came to their gates. Not a shield or spear was found among forty thousand in Israel.