6. When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites each went to settle on their own family property in order to take possession of the land.
7. The people served the Lord throughout the rest of Joshua’s life and throughout the next generation of elders who outlived him, those who had seen all the great things that the Lord had done for Israel.
8. Joshua, Nun’s son and the Lord’s servant, died when he was 110 years old.
9. They buried him within the boundaries of his family property in Timnath-heres in the highlands of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
10. When that whole generation had passed away, another generation came after them who didn’t know the Lord or the things that he had done for Israel.
11. Then the Israelites did things that the Lord saw as evil: They served the Baals;
12. and they went away from the Lord, their ancestors’ God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods from among the surrounding peoples, they worshipped them, and they angered the Lord.
13. They went away from the Lord and served Baal and the Astartes.
14. So the Lord became angry with Israel, and he handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He let them be defeated by their enemies around them, so that they were no longer able to stand up to them.
15. Whenever the Israelites marched out, the Lord’s power worked against them, just as the Lord had warned them. And they were very distressed.
16. Then the Lord raised up leaders to rescue them from the power of these raiders.
17. But they wouldn’t even obey their own leaders because they were unfaithful, following other gods and worshipping them. They quickly deviated from the way of their ancestors, who had obeyed the Lord’s commands, and didn’t follow their example.
18. The Lord was moved by Israel’s groaning under those who oppressed and crushed them. So the Lord would raise up leaders for them, and the Lord would be with the leader, and he would rescue Israel from the power of their enemies as long as that leader lived.