¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up leaders,^[a] who delivered Israel^[b] from domination by their marauders. ¹⁷ But they didn’t listen to their leaders, because they were committing spiritual immorality by following other gods and worshiping them. They quickly turned away from the road on which their ancestors had walked in obedience to the commands of the Lord. They didn’t follow their example. ¹⁸ As a result, whenever the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord remained present with their leader, delivering Israel^[c] from the control of their enemies during the lifetime of that leader. The Lord^[d] was moved with compassion by their groaning that had been caused by those who were oppressing and persecuting them.