Judges 3:1-11

New American Standard Bible

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

3 ^(A)Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all the Israelites who had not ^[a]experienced any of the wars of Canaan; ² only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might ^[b]be taught war, ^[c]those who had not ^[d]experienced it previously). ³ These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and ^(B)the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as ^[e]Lebo-hamath. ⁴ They were left to ^(C)test Israel by them, to find out if they would ^[f]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers ^[g]through Moses. ^5 (D)The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; ⁶ and ^(E)they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

⁷ So the sons of Israel did ^(F)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they ^(G)forgot the Lord their God and ^(H)served the Baals and the ^[h]Asheroth. ⁸ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of ^[i]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

The First Judge Frees Israel

⁹ But the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to set them free, ^(I)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰ And ^(J)the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-rishathaim king of ^[j]Mesopotamia, so that ^[k]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ Then the land was at rest for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.