Judges 2
1 Yahweh [appeared in the form of] an angel [and] went up from Gilgal to [a place that was later called] Bokim. He said [to the Israeli people], “I brought your [ancestors] up here from Egypt. I led them into this land that I solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. I said to them, ‘The agreement that I made with you, as for me, I will never (break it/say that it is ended).
And an angel of the Lord went up from Galgal to the place of weepers, and said: I made you go out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land for which I swore to your fathers: and I promised that I would not make void my covenant with you for ever:
2 But as for you, you must never make a peace agreement with the people who live in this land. You must tear down the altars [where they make sacrifices to idols].’ But you have not obeyed me.
On condition that you should not make a league with the inhabitants of this land, but should throw down their altars: and you would not hear my voice: why have you done this?
3 So now, I am telling you that I will not expel [your enemies] as you advance. They will be like thorns in your sides. And [they] will try to trap you [by making you worship] their idols.”
Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face: that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin.
4 After he told that to all the Israelis, the people cried loudly.
And when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, they lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 They called that place Bokim, [which means ‘weeping’]. There they offered sacrifices to Yahweh.
And the name of that place was called, The place of weepers, or of tears: and there they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
6 After Joshua sent the Israeli people away, each group went to possess the land that had been allotted to them.
And Josue sent away the people, and the children of Israel went every one to his own possession to hold it:
7 They served Yahweh as long as Joshua was alive, and as long as the elders, those who had seen all the great things that Yahweh had done for Israel, were alive.
And they served the Lord all his days, and the days of the ancients, that lived a long time after him, and who knew all the works of the Lord, which he had done for Israel.
8 Then Yahweh’s servant Joshua died. He was 110 years old when he died.
And Josue the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old,
9 They buried his body in the area he had received [from Moses], at Timnath-Serah, in the area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, north of Gaash Mountain.
And they buried him in the borders of his possession in Thamnathsare in mount Ephraim, on the north side of mount Gaas.
10 After all the people died who lived at the same time as Joshua [EUP], a group of people grew up who did not know Yahweh, and did not know what great things he had done for the Israeli people.
And all that generation was gathered to their fathers: and there arose others that knew not the Lord, and the works which he had done for Israel.
11 They did things that Yahweh said were very evil. They worshiped [idols that represented the god] Baal and the goddess Astarte. They worshiped [DOU] the various gods that the people-groups around them worshiped. They stopped worshiping Yahweh, the God their ancestors worshiped, the one who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt. That caused Yahweh to be very angry.
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they served Baalim.
And they left the Lord the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt: and they followed strange gods, and the gods of the people that dwelt round about them, and they adored them: and they provoked the Lord to anger.
Forsaking him, and serving Baal and Astaroth.
14 So he allowed people from other groups to raid them and steal their crops and animals. They were no longer able to resist their enemies, and Yahweh allowed all their enemies around them to defeat them.
And the Lord being angry against Israel, delivered them into the hands of plunderers: who took them and sold them to their enemies, that dwelt round about: neither could they stand against their enemies:
15 Whenever the Israelis went to fight [their enemies], Yahweh [MTY] was opposing them, and allowed their enemies to defeat them, just as he had promised he would do. So the Israelis were greatly distressed.
But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.
16 Then Yahweh gave leaders to them. These leaders rescued the Israelis from the people who were raiding them.
And the Lord raised up judges, to deliver them from the hands of those that oppressed them: but they would not hearken to them,
17 But the Israelis still would not pay attention to their leaders. Instead, they went to the idols, [acting like] prostitutes [who gave themselves to men who were not their husbands] [MET], and they worshiped those idols. They were not like their ancestors. Their ancestors obeyed what Yahweh commanded, but their descendants quickly stopped behaving as their ancestors had behaved.
Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things contrary.
18 Whenever Yahweh gave a leader to them, he helped that leader and enabled him to rescue the people from their enemies. He helped them like that as long as that leader was alive. Yahweh pitied them as they groaned because they were being oppressed and caused to suffer.
And when the Lord raised them up judges, in their days he was moved to mercy, and heard the groanings of the afflicted, and delivered them from the slaughter of the oppressors.
19 But after that leader died, the people went back to behaving in ways even more evil than their ancestors had behaved. They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them and did all [LIT] the things that they thought those gods wanted them to do.
But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much worse things than their fathers had done, following strange gods, serving them and adoring them. They left not their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they were accustomed to walk.
20 So Yahweh was very angry with the Israeli people. He said, “These people have disobeyed the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not done what I told them to do.
And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant, which I had made with their fathers, and hath despised to hearken to my voice:
21 So I will no longer expel the people-groups that Joshua left in this land when he died.
I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left, when he died:
22 I will use them to test the Israeli people to see whether they will do what I want them to do, as their ancestors did.”
That through them I may try Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, and walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.
23 Yahweh had allowed those people-groups to stay in that land. He did not expel them by allowing Joshua [and his men] to defeat them.
The Lord therefore left all these nations, and would not quickly destroy them, neither did he deliver them into the hands of Josue.
