Bible Strands
Judges 2:14
Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Yahweh’s judgment on Israel immediately after their covenant violation of abandoning Him to serve Baal and the Ashtoreths. This occurs at a recurring cycle point in the book where divine wrath triggers military defeat.
The words — The Hebrew אַף (af) denotes intense anger, paired with וַיִּחַר (va-yichar) meaning "it burned," emphasizing sudden, consuming wrath. The verb וַיִּתֵּן (va-yitten) translates literally as "and He gave," indicating deliberate divine transfer of authority to hostile forces.
The thread — This pattern of divine anger and delivery to plunderers recurs in 2 Kings 17:20 and Psalms 106:40, while Deuteronomy 32:30 frames the underlying principle that defeat requires God’s permission. The motif traces Israel’s repeated covenant failure and the consistent judicial response.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that military vulnerability stems directly from covenant abandonment, not mere tactical failure. It requires the reader to trace national distress back to divine judgment rather than external circumstance.
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 the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 17:20 So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.
- Psalms 106:40 So the anger of the LORD burned against His people, and He abhorred His own inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 32:30 How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Deuteronomy 31:17 On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’
- Leviticus 26:37 They will stumble over one another as before the sword, though no one is behind them. So you will not be able to stand against your enemies.
- Joshua 7:12 This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
- Judges 3:7 So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
- Judges 4:2 So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.
- Judges 10:7 So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites,
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.