Judges 2
1 The angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bokim, and said, “I brought you up from Egypt, and have brought you to the land I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you.
Yahweh [appeared in the form of] an angel [and] went up from Gilgal to [a place that was later called] Bokim. He said [to the Israeli people], “I brought your [ancestors] up here from Egypt. I led them into this land that I solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. I said to them, ‘The agreement that I made with you, as for me, I will never (break it/say that it is ended).
2 You must make no covenant with those who live in this land. You must tear down their altars.' But you have not listened to my voice. What is this that you have done?
But as for you, you must never make a peace agreement with the people who live in this land. You must tear down the altars [where they make sacrifices to idols].’ But you have not obeyed me.
3 So now I say, 'I will not drive the Canaanites out before you, but they will become thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a trap for you.'”
So now, I am telling you that I will not expel [your enemies] as you advance. They will be like thorns in your sides. And [they] will try to trap you [by making you worship] their idols.”
4 When the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people shouted and wept.
After he told that to all the Israelis, the people cried loudly.
5 They called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to Yahweh.
They called that place Bokim, [which means ‘weeping’]. There they offered sacrifices to Yahweh.
6 Now when Joshua had sent the people on their way, the people of Israel each went to the place assigned, to take ownership of their land.
After Joshua sent the Israeli people away, each group went to possess the land that had been allotted to them.
7 The people served Yahweh during the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, those who had seen all of Yahweh's great deeds he had done for Israel.
They served Yahweh as long as Joshua was alive, and as long as the elders, those who had seen all the great things that Yahweh had done for Israel, were alive.
8 Joshua son of Nun the servant of Yahweh, died at the age of 110 years old.
Then Yahweh’s servant Joshua died. He was 110 years old when he died.
9 They buried him within the border of the land he was assigned in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
They buried his body in the area he had received [from Moses], at Timnath-Serah, in the area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, north of Gaash Mountain.
10 All that generation was also gathered to their fathers. Another generation grew up after them who did not know Yahweh or what he had done for Israel.
After all the people died who lived at the same time as Joshua [EUP], a group of people grew up who did not know Yahweh, and did not know what great things he had done for the Israeli people.
11 The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and they served the Baals.
They did things that Yahweh said were very evil. They worshiped [idols that represented the god] Baal and the goddess Astarte. They worshiped [DOU] the various gods that the people-groups around them worshiped. They stopped worshiping Yahweh, the God their ancestors worshiped, the one who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt. That caused Yahweh to be very angry.
12 They broke away from Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, the very gods of the peoples who were around them, and they bowed down to them. They provoked Yahweh to anger because
13 they broke away from Yahweh and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.
14 The anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and he gave them to the raiders who stole their possessions from them. He sold them as slaves who were held by the strength of their enemies around them, so they could no longer defend themselves against their enemies.
So he allowed people from other groups to raid them and steal their crops and animals. They were no longer able to resist their enemies, and Yahweh allowed all their enemies around them to defeat them.
15 Wherever Israel went out to fight, Yahweh's hand was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them and they were in terrible distress.
Whenever the Israelis went to fight [their enemies], Yahweh [MTY] was opposing them, and allowed their enemies to defeat them, just as he had promised he would do. So the Israelis were greatly distressed.
16 Then Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who were stealing their possessions.
Then Yahweh gave leaders to them. These leaders rescued the Israelis from the people who were raiding them.
17 Yet they would not listen to their judges. They were unfaithful to Yahweh and gave themselves like prostitutes to other gods and worshiped them. They soon turned aside from the way their fathers had lived—those who had obeyed the commandments of Yahweh—but they themselves did not do so.
But the Israelis still would not pay attention to their leaders. Instead, they went to the idols, [acting like] prostitutes [who gave themselves to men who were not their husbands] [MET], and they worshiped those idols. They were not like their ancestors. Their ancestors obeyed what Yahweh commanded, but their descendants quickly stopped behaving as their ancestors had behaved.
18 When Yahweh raised up judges for them, Yahweh helped the judges and rescued them from the hand of their enemies all the days the judge lived. Yahweh had pity on them as they groaned because of those who oppressed them and afflicted them.
Whenever Yahweh gave a leader to them, he helped that leader and enabled him to rescue the people from their enemies. He helped them like that as long as that leader was alive. Yahweh pitied them as they groaned because they were being oppressed and caused to suffer.
19 But when the judge died, they would turn away and do things that were even more corrupt than their fathers had done. They would go after other gods to serve them and worship them. They refused to give up any of their evil practices or their stubborn ways.
But after that leader died, the people went back to behaving in ways even more evil than their ancestors had behaved. They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them and did all [LIT] the things that they thought those gods wanted them to do.
20 The anger of Yahweh burned against Israel; he said, “Because this nation has broken the terms of my covenant that I had set in place for their fathers—because they have not listened to my voice—
So Yahweh was very angry with the Israeli people. He said, “These people have disobeyed the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not done what I told them to do.
21 I will not, from now on, drive out from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.
So I will no longer expel the people-groups that Joshua left in this land when he died.
22 I will do this so that I may test Israel, whether or not they will keep the way of Yahweh and walk in it, as their fathers kept it.”
I will use them to test the Israeli people to see whether they will do what I want them to do, as their ancestors did.”
23 That is why Yahweh left those nations and did not drive them out quickly and give them into the hand of Joshua.
Yahweh had allowed those people-groups to stay in that land. He did not expel them by allowing Joshua [and his men] to defeat them.
