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Judges 10:7

ESV So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,
NIV he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,
NASB And the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.
CSB So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.
NLT So the Lord burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites,
KJV And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

What does Judges 10:7 mean?

After the two secondary judges of Tola and Jair (Judges 10:1–5), the people of Israel seem to have thrown off all restraint. They dove headlong into the worship of all the gods of the peoples in and around the land of Canaan (Judges 10:6). This included not only the seemingly ever-present Baals and Ashtaroth (Judges 3:7; 8:33), but also the gods of the nations around them. The only God they stopped serving was the One True God, the Lord.

The Lord sees that His people have deliberately plunged into this great evil once more, even beyond their previous errors. The symbolism of God's anger being "kindled" evokes the concept of His wrath as fire (Psalm 78:21; Hebrews 12:29). Blatant rebellion and sin metaphorically "add fuel" to His anger. So, the Lord follows up on His promise not only to remove His protection but to actively hand His people over to their enemies (Deuteronomy 30:15–19; Judges 2:1–3). He allows them to fall under oppression by not one, but two nations: the Philistines and the Ammonites. These were both bitter enemies of Israel at various times throughout history.

Clearly, in this moment in Israel's history, God is angry. His anger toward His people will not be easily cooled. Without contradiction, it's also true that God loves His people and acts in love towards them. Only suffering at the hands of their enemies will turn them back, eventually, to the One True God who provides for them. To be restored to a path towards life and goodness, the stubborn nation of Israel must experience discipline. The text uses the term "sold" to depict God giving the people over in this way.
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