So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me.
It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt. I was a husband to them, but they broke that agreement,” says the Lord.
My anger has started a fire that burns down to the place of the dead. It will burn up the ground and its crops, and it will set fire to the base of the mountains.
This will happen if you don’t keep your agreement with the Lord your God. If you go and serve other gods and worship them, the Lord will become very angry with you. Then none of you will be left in this good land he has given you.”
The Lord was angry with the people of Israel, so he handed them over to robbers who took their possessions. He let their enemies who lived around them defeat them; they could not protect themselves.
But when the judges died, the Israelites again sinned and worshiped other gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.