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Judges 2
New English Translation

Confrontation and Repentance at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord[a] went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors.[b] I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.’[c] But you have disobeyed me.[d] Why would you do such a thing?[e] 3 At that time I also warned you,[f] ‘If you disobey,[g] I will not drive out the Canaanites[h] before you. They will ensnare you[i] and their gods will lure you away.’”[j]

4 When the angel of the Lord finished speaking these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly.[k] 5 They named that place Bokim[l] and offered sacrifices to the Lord there.

The End of an Era

6 When Joshua dismissed[m] the people, the Israelites went to their allotted portions of territory,[n] intending to take possession of the land. 7 The people worshiped[o] the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men[p] who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed[q] all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.[r] 8 Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of 110. 9 The people[s] buried him in his allotted land[t] in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 That entire generation passed away;[u] a new generation grew up[v] that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel.[w]

A Monotonous Cycle

11 The Israelites did evil before[x] the Lord by worshiping[y] the Baals. 12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors[z] who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods—the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped[aa] them and made the Lord angry. 13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.[ab]

14 The Lord was furious with Israel[ac] and handed them over to robbers who plundered them.[ad] He turned them over to[ae] their enemies who lived around them. They could no longer withstand their enemies’ attacks.[af] 15 Whenever they went out to fight,[ag] the Lord did them harm,[ah] just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do.[ai] They suffered greatly.[aj]

16 The Lord raised up leaders[ak] who delivered them from these robbers.[al] 17 But they did not obey[am] their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped[an] them. They quickly turned aside from the path[ao] their ancestors[ap] had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not.[aq] 18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people[ar] from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them[as] when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them.[at] 19 When a leader died, the next generation[au] would again[av] act more wickedly than the previous one.[aw] They would follow after other gods, worshiping them[ax] and bowing down to them. They did not give up[ay] their practices or their stubborn ways.

A Divine Decision

20 The Lord was furious with Israel.[az] He said, “This nation[ba] has violated the terms of the covenant I made with their ancestors[bb] by disobeying me.[bc] 21 So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died, 22 in order to test Israel.[bd] [be] I want to see[bf] whether or not the people[bg] will carefully walk in the path[bh] marked out by[bi] the Lord, as their ancestors[bj] were careful to do.” 23 This is why[bk] the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately;[bl] he did not hand them over to Joshua.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 2:1 sn See Exod 14:19; 23:20.
  2. Judges 2:1 tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”
  3. Judges 2:2 tn Heb “their altars.”
  4. Judges 2:2 tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”
  5. Judges 2:2 tn Heb “What is this you have done?”
  6. Judges 2:3 tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.
  7. Judges 2:3 tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See Josh 23:12-13.
  8. Judges 2:3 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Canaanites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. Judges 2:3 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צִדִּים (tsiddim) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense here. On the basis of Num 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If this word is added, the text would read, “they will become [thorns] in your sides” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).
  10. Judges 2:3 tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”
  11. Judges 2:4 tn Heb “lifted their voices and wept.”
  12. Judges 2:5 sn Bokim means “weeping ones” and is derived from the Hebrew verb בָּכָא (bakhaʾ, “to weep”).
  13. Judges 2:6 tn Or “sent away.”
  14. Judges 2:6 tn Heb “the Israelites went each to his inheritance.”
  15. Judges 2:7 tn Or “served”; or “followed.”
  16. Judges 2:7 tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”
  17. Judges 2:7 tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”
  18. Judges 2:7 tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”
  19. Judges 2:9 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. Judges 2:9 tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”
  21. Judges 2:10 tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”
  22. Judges 2:10 tn Heb “arose after them.”
  23. Judges 2:10 tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.
  24. Judges 2:11 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  25. Judges 2:11 tn Or “serving”; or “following.”
  26. Judges 2:12 tn Or “fathers.”
  27. Judges 2:12 tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).
  28. Judges 2:13 sn The Ashtoreths were local manifestations of the goddess Astarte.
  29. Judges 2:14 tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”
  30. Judges 2:14 tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)sn The expression robbers who plundered them is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.
  31. Judges 2:14 tn Heb “sold them into the hand of.”
  32. Judges 2:14 tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  33. Judges 2:15 tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.
  34. Judges 2:15 tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”
  35. Judges 2:15 tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”
  36. Judges 2:15 tn Or “they experienced great distress.”
  37. Judges 2:16 tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”
  38. Judges 2:16 tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”
  39. Judges 2:17 tn Or “did not listen to.”
  40. Judges 2:17 tn Or “bowed before.”
  41. Judges 2:17 tn Or “way [of life].”
  42. Judges 2:17 tn Or “fathers.”
  43. Judges 2:17 tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”
  44. Judges 2:18 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  45. Judges 2:18 tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
  46. Judges 2:18 tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.
  47. Judges 2:19 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  48. Judges 2:19 tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.
  49. Judges 2:19 tn Heb “their fathers.”sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).
  50. Judges 2:19 tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”
  51. Judges 2:19 tn Or “drop.”
  52. Judges 2:20 tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”
  53. Judges 2:20 tn Heb “Because this nation.”
  54. Judges 2:20 tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”
  55. Judges 2:20 tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.
  56. Judges 2:22 tn The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [ʿazav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)
  57. Judges 2:22 tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.
  58. Judges 2:22 tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] want to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  59. Judges 2:22 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  60. Judges 2:22 tn Or “way [of life].”
  61. Judges 2:22 tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.
  62. Judges 2:22 tn Or “fathers.”
  63. Judges 2:23 tn The words “this is why” are interpretive and not in the original text.
  64. Judges 2:23 tn Or “quickly.”
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Judges 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Pattern of Sin and Judgment

2 The Angel of the Lord(A) went up from Gilgal to Bochim[a] and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land(B) I had promised to your fathers.(C) I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. 2 You are not to make a covenant(D) with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars.[b](E) But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? 3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you.(F) They will be thorns[c][d] in your sides,(G) and their gods will be a trap for you.”(H) 4 When the Angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they named that place Bochim[e] and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

Joshua’s Death

6 Joshua sent the people away, and the Israelites went to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.(I) 7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived[f] Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works(J) He had done for Israel.

8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim,(K) north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord(L) or the works He had done for Israel.

11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.(M) They worshiped the Baals(N) 12 and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They went after other gods from the surrounding peoples(O) and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord,(P) 13 for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.(Q)

14 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold(R) them to[g] the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord[h] was against them(S) and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them.(T) So they suffered greatly.

16 The Lord raised up(U) judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, 17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted(V) themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way(W) of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was with(X) him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive.[i] The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptly(Y) than their fathers, going after other gods to worship and bow down to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate(Z) ways.

20 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He declared, “Because this nation has violated My covenant(AA) that I made with their fathers(AB) and disobeyed Me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left(AC) when he died.(AD) 22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether they would keep the Lord’s way(AE) by walking in it, as their fathers had.”(AF) 23 The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 2:1 LXX reads to the weeping place and to Bethel and to the house of Israel
  2. Judges 2:2 LXX reads with those lying in wait in this land; neither are you to fall down in worship to their gods, but their carved images you must break to pieces and their altars you must destroy
  3. Judges 2:3 LXX reads affliction
  4. Judges 2:3 Lit traps
  5. Judges 2:5 Or Weeping
  6. Judges 2:7 Lit extended their days after
  7. Judges 2:14 Lit into the hand of
  8. Judges 2:15 Lit the hand of the Lord
  9. Judges 2:18 Lit enemies all the days of the judge
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Judges 2
King James Version

2 And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.

6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

7 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 works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.

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

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim:

12 And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

13 And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.

18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

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

22 That through 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 Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

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