MASS READINGS FIRST LECTURE “The Lord raised up judges. But neither did they obey their judges ” Reading of the Book of Judges 2, 11-19

16 August 2021, General Week 20 - Monday 

MASS READINGS 

FIRST LECTURE 

“The Lord raised up judges. But neither did they obey their judges ” 

Reading of the Book of Judges 2, 11-19 

In those days

    the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,

and they served the Baals.

    They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers,

who brought them out of the land of Egypt,

and followed other gods

among those of the surrounding peoples.

They bowed down to them

and angered the Lord.

    They forsook the Lord

to serve Baal and Astarte.

    Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

He delivered them into the hands of the plunderers,

abandoned them to the enemies around them,

and they were unable to resist them.

    In all their expeditions,

the hand of the Lord was against them, to their misfortune,

as he had told them,

as he had sworn.

They were in great distress. 

    So the Lord raised up judges

to save them from the hand of plunderers.

    But neither did they obey their judges.

They prostituted themselves by following other gods,

they bowed down to them.

It was not long before they turned away

from the path where their fathers had walked

, obeying the commandments of the Lord;

they did not act like them.

    When the Lord raised up a judge for them,

the Lord was with the judge,

and he saved them out of the hand of their enemies

as long as the judge was alive;

for the Lord allowed himself to be moved

when they groaned

under the violence of their oppressors.

    But when the judge was dead, they started again

and pushed the corruption further than their fathers:

they followed other gods,

served them and bowed down to them;

they did not renounce their practices

or their stubborn conduct. 

   - Word of the Lord.