Judges 2:19

But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator records a recurring historical cycle in Israel’s conquest era, describing the immediate spiritual regression that follows the death of each divinely raised judge.

The words — יָשֻׁ֙בוּ (ya.Shu.vu) means “they turned back,” and מֵֽ/אֲבוֹתָם (me./'a.vo.Ta/m) means “more than their fathers,” marking a regression in covenant faithfulness that exceeds ancestral patterns.

The thread — This pattern of post-judicial apostasy appears in Judges 8:33 after Gideon’s death, Judges 4:1 following Ehud’s death, and Judges 3:11–12 where Othniel’s death precedes the nation’s return to evil.

Why it lands — It requires the reader to recognize that external deliverance does not produce internal obedience, and that covenant failure accelerates when spiritual leadership ends.

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

וְהָיָ֣ה׀ve./ha.Yahand/ it was בְּמ֣וֹתbe./Motwhen/ died הַשּׁוֹפֵ֗טha./sho.Fetthe/ judge יָשֻׁ֙בוּ֙ya.Shu.vuthey turned back וְהִשְׁחִ֣יתוּve./hish.Chi.tuand/ they acted corruptly מֵֽאֲבוֹתָ֔םme./'a.vo.Ta/mmore than/ fathers/ their לָלֶ֗כֶתla./Le.khetby/ walking אַֽחֲרֵי֙'a.cha.Reiafter אֱלֹהִ֣ים'E.lo.Himgods אֲחֵרִ֔ים'a.che.Rimother לְעָבְדָ֖םle./'a.ve.Da/mto/ serve/ them וּלְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֹ֣תu./le./hish.ta.cha.Votand/ to/ bow downלָהֶ֑םla./Hemto <the>/ themלֹ֤אlo'not הִפִּ֙ילוּ֙hi.Pi.luthey let drop מִמַּ֣עַלְלֵיהֶ֔םmi./Ma.'a.lei./Hemany of/ deeds/ their וּמִדַּרְכָּ֖םu./mi./dar.Ka/mand/ any of/ way/ their הַקָּשָֽׁה׃ha./ka.Shah<the>/ stubborn

King James Version

And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

Cross-references

Judges 8:33 And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
Judges 4:1 After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD.
Judges 3:11 So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
2 Chronicles 24:17 After the death of Jehoiada, however, the officials of Judah came and paid homage to the king, and he listened to them.
Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
Jeremiah 23:17 They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’
Joshua 24:31 Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.
Judges 2:7 And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel.
1 Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king.”
Psalms 78:8 Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.