Judg 2 | HCSB | STEP | The Angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said , “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers . I also said : I will never break My covenant with you.

Judges 2

Pattern of Sin and Judgment

1 The Angel of the Lord ^a went up from Gilgal to Bochim ^{▼▼LXX reads to the weeping place and to Bethel and to the house of Israel} and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land ^c I had promised to your fathers. ^d I also said: I will never break My covenant with you. 2 You are not to make a covenant ^e with the people who are living in this land, and you are to tear down their altars. ^{▼▼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
,} ^g 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. ^h They will be thorns ^{▼▼LXX reads affliction
,} ^{▼▼Lit traps} in your sides, ^k and their gods will be a trap for you.” ^l 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 ^{▼▼Or Weeping} 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. ⁿ 7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived ^{▼▼Lit extended their days after} Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works ^p 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, ^q 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 ^r or the works He had done for Israel.

11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. ^s They worshiped the ^{▼▼Baal: A fertility god who was the main god of the Canaanite religion and the god of rain and thunderstorms; also the Hebrew word meaning "lord," "master," "owner," or "husband"}Baals ^u 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 ^v and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord, ^w 13 for they abandoned Him and worshiped Baal and the ^{▼▼Ashtoreth(s): A Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war, who was the daughter of Asherah and consort of Baal; the plural form of her name in Hebrew is Ashtaroth.}Ashtoreths. ^y

14 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He handed them over to marauders who raided them. He sold ^z them to ^{▼▼Lit into the hand of} the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord ^{▼▼Lit the hand of the Lord} was against them ^ac and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them. ^ad So they suffered greatly.

16 The Lord raised up ^ae judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, 17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted ^af themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way ^ag 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 ^ah him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. ^{▼▼Lit enemies all the days of the judge} 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 ^aj 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 ^ak ways.

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