This verse gives more details about how Israel “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” The Hebrew word ʾelohim appears here three times, once in reference to Yahweh as God and twice in reference to the foreign gods. This verse is quite long and Revised Standard Version has joined many sentences together with semicolons. In most languages readers will find it easier to have slightly shorter sentences separated by periods or simple conjunctions.
And they forsook the LORD: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and does not introduce what happened next but a clause that sums up what the Israelites did. Thus some versions omit the conjunction here. They forsook the LORD means the Israelites abandoned their special relationship with Yahweh. The Hebrew verb rendered forsook (ʿazab) has many meanings, for example, “to forsake a person” and “not to honor a covenant” (see Deut 29.25). Here it means turn away from an existing relationship, in this case, the alliance or covenant that was established between the LORD and his people (Deut 5.1-7). Translators need to find a strong expression to convey this meaning, for example, “They turned their backs on the LORD,” “They decided to follow Yahweh no longer,” or perhaps “They abandoned [their allegiance to] the LORD.” Some languages may have figurative or idiomatic expressions, such as “They let fall their commitment to the LORD.” Good News Translation says “They stopped worshiping the LORD,” which may be acceptable in some languages, but may not be strong enough. It was not just in worship that the people sinned. They abandoned their overall commitment to the LORD and rejected him. This clause is sadly reminiscent of the day when Joshua challenged the people of Israel. At that point in time, they responded, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods…” (verse 24.16-18). Sadly, now the Israelites are making another choice.
The God of their fathers: This longer name for God expresses the shock the narrator feels as he tells this story. As elsewhere at high points in the narrative, there are compound names of God, sometimes lined up one after another. Here the God of their fathers puts emphasis on the many times the LORD rescued the Israelites, describing the long-standing relationship between these two parties. Of their fathers may need to be made more explicit in translation, for example, “the God their ancestors served” or “the God their fathers worshiped.” God renders the generic Hebrew word ʾelohim. For fathers see verse 2.1.
Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt: Once again the narrator makes reference to Israel’s history, rooted in their relationship with the LORD and the wonderful things he did for them (Deut 4.34). Though this clause is similar to one in verse 2.1, brought … out renders another verb, the causative form of the key Hebrew verb meaning “come out” (see verse 1.24). However, the meanings are basically the same, so translators may use the same verb in both places. For the land of Egypt, see verse 2.1. As there, some may opt to make explicit the idea of “slavery in Egypt.” This relative clause modifies God and not their fathers. If this is not clear, the word God may have to be repeated, as follows: “They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God who brought them out of Egypt.”
They went after other gods: In Revised Standard Version this clause follows a semicolon, but in Hebrew there is a waw conjunction. Many languages will begin with “and.” This clause gives the result of the people forsaking or rejecting the LORD. Went after is a literal rendering of the Hebrew. In other contexts this figurative expression is sometimes used to refer to people looking for sexual encounters, but here it means the Israelites are actively seeking to worship or serve other gods. Several versions have “followed.” If there is an equivalent idiomatic expression with the same meaning, it can be used here. Otherwise, we might say they “began to worship” (Good News Translation). In this context the word other means “foreign,” “strange,” or even “forbidden.”
From among the gods of the peoples who were round about them: The gods of the peoples could refer to the Baals or it could have a wider application to other gods worshiped in the region. Other gods are from a larger number of gods worshiped by the peoples in Canaan. The repetition of the word gods emphasizes how serious this act was. Peoples renders the same Hebrew word appearing in verse 2.7, where, in the singular, it refers to the Israelites (see comments on verse 2.4). Here it is plural, referring to the Canaanites, who worshiped a number of gods, the chief of whom were Baal and his partners, such as Astarte and Asherah.
The fact that the peoples are round about them is another strong accusation against the Israelites. The people of Israel were supposed to drive out the inhabitants of the land, but instead they end up living side by side with them (verse 1.19-36). In some places they dominated these peoples, but the phrase round about them shows that the Israelites were rather themselves surrounded by foreign peoples and practices. Thus it is clear the Israelites are the weak ones, undergoing the influence of their neighbors, rather than the other way around. The Israelites had begun to serve the gods of their neighbors, the Canaanites. For the peoples who were round about them, Contemporary English Version has “nearby nations,” but it would be better to express the idea that they are literally “surrounded,” for example, “the Canaanites who surrounded them” or “the peoples who lived all around them.” Indeed, the LORD’s warning in verse 2.3 has now become a reality.
And bowed down to them: Bowing down is an act of respect and worship. The Israelites are literally going down on their knees in adoration of these foreign gods. Translators should be able to easily render this idea.
And they provoked the LORD to anger: This clause describes the consequence of the Israelites’ attitude and acts. God becomes angry with them. To show this logical relationship, the introductory conjunction and can be rendered “so” or “therefore.” The pronoun they refers to Israel. Provoked … to anger translates the causative form of the Hebrew verb meaning “be angry.” The text does not say whether they deliberately provoked Yahweh or whether it is simply a consequence of what they did. Possible translations for provoked the LORD to anger are “angered the LORD,” “irritated the LORD greatly,” and “made the LORD angry” (Good News Translation).
Some examples for the translation of this verse are:
• They abandoned their relationship with Yahweh, the God their ancestors served, the God who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt! They turned away from him to serve other gods, the gods of the Canaanite peoples who surrounded them. They bowed down to them! And this made Yahweh very angry.
• They turned away from the LORD their fathers worshiped, the God who brought them from slavery in Egypt! They bowed down to the foreign gods of the peoples all around them and served them instead. By doing this, they greatly angered the LORD.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .