Judges 2

Revised Geneva Translation

2 And the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, “I made you go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I had sworn to your fathers, and said, ‘I will never break My Covenant with you.

² ‘You, also, shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land, but shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My Voice. Why have you done this?

³ “Therefore, I also said, ‘I will not cast them out before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides. And their gods shall be your destruction.’”

⁴ And when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice and wept.

⁵ Therefore, they called the name of that place ‘Bochim’, and offered sacrifices to the LORD there.

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

⁷ And the people had served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who 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 when he was a hundred ten years old.

⁹ And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath Heres, on Mount Ephraim, on the northern side of Mount Gaash.

¹⁰ And so, all that generation was gathered to their fathers. And another generation arose after them, which neither knew the LORD nor even the works which He had done for Israel.

¹¹ Then, the children of Israel did wickedly in the sight of the LORD, and served Baal,

¹² and forsook the LORD God of their fathers, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt. And they followed other gods, the gods of the people that were all around them, and bowed to them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

¹³ So, they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtoreth.

¹⁴ And the wrath of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He delivered them into the hands of plunderers, who spoiled them. And He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

¹⁵ Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was very much against them, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. So, He punished them severely.

¹⁶ Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hands of their oppressors.

¹⁷ But still they would not obey their judges; for they went a whoring after other gods, and worshipped them, turning quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked (obeying the Commandments of the LORD). They did not do so.

¹⁸ And when the LORD had raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge (for the LORD had compassion of their groanings, because of those who oppressed them and tormented them).

¹⁹ Yet, when the judge was dead, they returned, and did worse than their fathers, following other gods to serve them and worship them. They did not cease from their own inventions, or from their rebellious way.

²⁰ Therefore, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He said, “Because this people has transgressed My Covenant which I Commanded their fathers, and has not obeyed My Voice,

²¹ “I will, therefore, no longer cast out any of the nations before them which Joshua left when he died,

²² “so that through them I may test Israel, to see whether they will keep the way of the LORD, to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.”

²³ So, the LORD left those nations, and did not immediately drive them out or deliver them into the hand of Joshua.