< Judges 2 >

1 Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, I took you out of Egypt, guiding you into the land which I gave by an oath to your fathers; and I said, My agreement with you will never be broken by me:
And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said: '...I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said: I will never break My covenant with you;
2 And you are to make no agreement with the people of this land; you are to see that their altars are broken down: but you have not given ear to my voice: what have you done?
and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars; but ye have not hearkened unto My voice; what is this ye have done?
3 And so I have said, I will not send them out from before you; but they will be a danger to you, and their gods will be a cause of falling to you.
Wherefore I also said: I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be unto you as snares, and their gods shall be a trap unto you.'
4 Now on hearing these words which the angel of the Lord said to all the children of Israel, the people gave themselves up to loud crying and weeping.
And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 And they gave that place the name of Bochim, and made offerings there to the Lord.
And they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
6 And Joshua let the people go away, and the children of Israel went, every man to his heritage, to take the land for themselves.
Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people were true to the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the responsible men who were still living after the death of Joshua, and had seen all the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.
And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD, that He had wrought for Israel.
8 And death came to Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, he being a hundred and ten years old.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old.
9 And they put his body in the earth in the land of his heritage in Timnath-heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim to the north of Mount Gaash.
And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
10 And in time death overtook all that generation; and another generation came after them, having no knowledge of the Lord or of the things which he had done for Israel.
And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, that knew not the LORD, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord and became servants to the Baals;
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baalim.
12 And they gave up the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had taken them out of the land of Egypt, and went after other gods, the gods of the peoples round about them, worshipping them and moving the Lord to wrath.
And they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and worshipped them; and they provoked the LORD.
13 And they gave up the Lord, and became the servants of Baal and the Astartes.
And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.
14 And the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and he gave them up into the hands of those who violently took their property, and into the hands of their haters all round them, so that they were forced to give way before them.
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He gave them over into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had taken his oath it would be; and things became very hard for them.
Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken, and as the LORD had sworn unto them; and they were sore distressed.
16 Then the Lord gave them judges, as their saviours from the hands of those who were cruel to them.
And the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
17 But still they would not give ear to their judges, but went after other gods and gave them worship; quickly turning from the way in which their fathers had gone, keeping the orders of the Lord; but they did not do so.
And yet they hearkened not unto their judges, for they went astray after other gods, and worshipped them; they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not so.
18 And whenever the Lord gave them judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and was their saviour from the hands of their haters all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved by their cries of grief because of those who were cruel to them.
And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented the LORD because of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them.
19 But whenever the judge was dead, they went back and did more evil than their fathers, going after other gods, to be their servants and their worshippers; giving up nothing of their sins and their hard-hearted ways.
But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to worship them; they left nothing undone of their practices, nor of their stubborn way.
20 And the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and he said, Because this nation has not been true to my agreement which I made with their fathers, and has not given ear to my voice;
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel; and He said: 'Because this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice;
21 From now on I will not go on driving out from before them any of the nations which at the death of Joshua were still living in this land;
I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died;
22 In order to put Israel to the test, and see if they will keep the way of the Lord, walking in it as their fathers did, or not.
that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.'
23 So the Lord let those nations go on living in the land, not driving them out quickly, and did not give them up into the hands of Joshua.
So the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered He them into the hand of Joshua.

< Judges 2 >