Judges 2:13
New International Version
because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

New Living Translation
They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth.

English Standard Version
They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

Berean Standard Bible
for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

King James Bible
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

New King James Version
They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

New American Standard Bible
They abandoned the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

NASB 1995
So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

NASB 1977
So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

Legacy Standard Bible
So they forsook Yahweh and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

Amplified Bible
So they abandoned the LORD and served Baal [the pagan god of the Canaanites] and the Ashtaroth.

Christian Standard Bible
for they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.

American Standard Version
And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

English Revised Version
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They abandoned the LORD to serve the god Baal and the goddess Astarte.

Good News Translation
They stopped worshiping the LORD and served the Baals and the Astartes.

International Standard Version
As a result, they abandoned the LORD by serving both Baal and Ashtaroth.

Majority Standard Bible
for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

NET Bible
They abandoned the LORD and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars.

New Heart English Bible
They forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

World English Bible
They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
indeed, they forsake YHWH, and do service to Ba‘al and to Ashtaroth.

Young's Literal Translation
yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth.

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will forsake Jehovah, and will serve Baal and Ashtaroth.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth.

Catholic Public Domain Version
forsaking him, and serving Baal and Ashtaroth.

New American Bible
Because they had abandoned the LORD and served Baal and the Astartes,

New Revised Standard Version
They abandoned the LORD, and worshiped Baal and the Astartes.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
So they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they left LORD JEHOVAH and they served Baal and Astharatha
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And they provoked the Lord, and forsook him, and served Baal and the Astartes.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel's Unfaithfulness
12Thus 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, 13for they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14Then 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.…

Cross References
1 Kings 18:18
“I have not troubled Israel,” Elijah replied, “but you and your father’s house have, for you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD and have followed the Baals.

1 Samuel 12:10
Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve You.’

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.

Jeremiah 2:11-13
Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. / Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD. / “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Hosea 2:13
I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she adorned herself with rings and jewelry, and went after her lovers. But Me she forgot,” declares the LORD.

1 Kings 11:33
For they have forsaken Me to worship Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in My ways, nor done what is right in My eyes, nor kept My statutes and judgments, as Solomon’s father David did.

2 Kings 17:16
They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.

Jeremiah 11:13
Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

2 Chronicles 28:2-3
Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even made cast images of the Baals. / Moreover, Ahaz burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

Psalm 106:36-39
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. / They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. / They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. ...

1 Corinthians 10:20-21
No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. / You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too.

Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

2 Corinthians 6:16-17
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” / “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

Galatians 4:8
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

Revelation 2:14
But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.


Treasury of Scripture

And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

served

Judges 2:11
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

Judges 3:7
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

Judges 10:6
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.

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Ashtaroth Ash'taroth Ashtoreths Astartes Baal Ba'als Servants Served Service
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Judges 2
1. An angel rebukes the people at Bochim
6. The wickedness of the new generation after Joshua
14. God's anger and pity toward them
20. The Canaanites left to prove Israel














So they forsook the LORD
The phrase "forsook the LORD" is a powerful indictment against the Israelites. The Hebrew word for "forsook" is "עזב" (azab), which means to leave, abandon, or desert. This word conveys a sense of intentional departure and neglect. In the context of the covenant relationship between God and Israel, forsaking the LORD signifies a breach of faith and a turning away from the divine source of life and blessing. Historically, this act of forsaking God was not merely a passive drift but an active choice to abandon the worship and commandments of Yahweh, who had delivered them from Egypt and established them in the Promised Land. This abandonment is a recurring theme in the Book of Judges, highlighting the cyclical nature of Israel's faithfulness and rebellion.

and served Baal
The term "served" in Hebrew is "עבד" (avad), which means to work, serve, or worship. This indicates that the Israelites not only abandoned their God but also actively engaged in the worship of Baal. Baal was a Canaanite deity associated with fertility, storms, and agriculture. The worship of Baal was prevalent among the Canaanite peoples and often involved rituals that were abhorrent to the Israelites' covenantal faith, including idolatry and sometimes even human sacrifice. The Israelites' service to Baal represents a profound spiritual adultery, as they exchanged the worship of the one true God for the false promises of a pagan idol. This act of serving Baal was a direct violation of the first commandment, which forbids the worship of other gods.

and the Ashtoreths
The "Ashtoreths" refers to the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth, also known as Astarte or Ishtar in other cultures. She was often associated with love, war, and fertility. The plural form "Ashtoreths" suggests the worship of multiple manifestations or local versions of this goddess. The worship of Ashtoreth was often linked with immoral practices and was a significant temptation for the Israelites, who were surrounded by Canaanite culture. The inclusion of Ashtoreths alongside Baal in this verse underscores the extent of Israel's apostasy, as they not only turned to one false god but embraced a pantheon of deities, further entrenching themselves in idolatry. This syncretism diluted their distinct identity as God's chosen people and led to their spiritual and moral decline.

(13) Baal and Ashtaroth.--Literally, "the Baals and the Ashtareths."

Ashtaroth.--The plural of the feminine word Ash-tareth, or Astarte, "the goddess of the Sidonians" (1Kings 11:5), the Ph?nician Venus--identified sometimes with the moon (e.g., in the name Ashtaroth Karnaim, "the city of the two-horned moon," the name of Og's capital, Deuteronomy 1:4), and sometimes with the planet Venus (2Kings 23:4; Cic. De Nat. Deor. 3:23; Euseb. Praep. Evang. i. 10). She is called the "queen of heaven," in Jeremiah 7:10; Jeremiah 44:17, and was called Baalti ("my lady") by the Ph?nicians. The plural form may be, as Ewald thinks, the plural of excellence, or like Baalim an allusion to the different forms and attributes under which the goddess was worshipped. The worship of Baalim and Ashtaroth naturally went hand in hand. (See Judges 10:6; 1Samuel 7:4; 1Samuel 12:10.) Ashtaroth is not to be confused with the Asheroth (rendered "groves" in the E. V.) mentioned in Judges 3:7. The words resemble each other less in Hebrew, as Ashtaroth begins with , not with . Mil. ton's allusions to these deities are not only exquisitely beautiful but also very correct, as he derived his information from Selden's learned Syntagma de Dis Syrs: . . .

Verse 13. - Baal and Ashtaroth. Ashtaroth is the plural of Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians (1 Kings 11:5, 33), just as Baalim (ver. 11) is the plural of Baal. The many images of Baal and Ashtoreth are, in the opinion of some, indicated by the plural; but others think that different modifications or impersonations of the god and goddess are indicated. Thus we read of Baal-berith, the god who presides over covenants; Baal-zebul, or Zebub, the god who presides over flies, who could either send or remove a plague of flies, and so on. "Baal (lord or master) was the supreme male divinity of the Phoenician and Canaanitish nations, as Ashtoreth (perhaps the star, the planet Venus) was their supreme female divinity. Baal and Ashtoreth are frequently coupled together. Many Phoenician names - Hannibal, Asdrubal, Adherbal, Belus, etc. - are derived from Baal."

CHAPTER 2:14-23

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
for they forsook
וַיַּעַזְב֖וּ (way·ya·‘az·ḇū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5800: To loosen, relinquish, permit

Him
יְהוָ֑ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

and served
וַיַּעַבְד֥וּ (way·ya·‘aḇ·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5647: To work, to serve, till, enslave

Baal
לַבַּ֖עַל (lab·ba·‘al)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1168: Baal -- a heathen god

and the Ashtoreths.
וְלָעַשְׁתָּרֽוֹת׃ (wə·lā·‘aš·tā·rō·wṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine plural
Strong's 6252: A place East of the Jordan


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OT History: Judges 2:13 They forsook Yahweh and served Baal (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 2:12
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