Judges 2

¹Now 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:

²And 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?

³And 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.

⁴Now 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.

⁵And they gave that place the name of Bochim, and made offerings there to the Lord.

⁶And Joshua let the people go away, and the children of Israel went, every man to his heritage, to take the land for themselves.

⁷And 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.

⁸And death came to Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, he being a hundred and ten years old.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord and became servants to the Baals;

¹²And 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.

¹³And they gave up the Lord, and became the servants of Baal and the Astartes.

¹⁴And 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.

¹⁵Wherever 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.

¹⁶Then the Lord gave them judges, as their saviours from the hands of those who were cruel to them.

¹⁷But 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.

¹⁸And 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.

¹⁹But 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.

²⁰And 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;

²¹From 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;

²²In 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.

²³So 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.

Judges 2

¹The angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, "I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you:

²and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not listened to my voice: why have you done this?

³Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you."

⁴It happened, when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

⁵They called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

⁶Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.

⁷The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord that he had worked for Israel.

⁸Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred ten years old.

⁹They buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.

¹⁰Also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, who didn't know the Lord, nor yet the work which he had worked for Israel.

¹¹The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals;

¹²and 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 who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them: and they provoked the Lord to anger.

¹³They forsook the Lord, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

¹⁴The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers who despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

¹⁵Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had spoken, and as the Lord had sworn to them: and they were sore distressed.

¹⁶The Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who despoiled them.

¹⁷Yet they did not listen to their judges; for they played the prostitute after other gods, and bowed themselves down to them: they turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not do so.

¹⁸When 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 grieved the Lord because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.

¹⁹But it happened, 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 bow down to them; they did not cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn way.

²⁰The 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 listened to my voice;

²¹I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died;

²²that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not."

²³So the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.