Judges 2
1 And a messenger of Jehovah goeth up from Gilgal unto Bochim,
The angel of the Lord went from Gilgal to Bokim and told the people, “I led you out of the land of Egypt and brought you to this land that I promised to your forefathers, and I said I would never break the agreement I made with you.
2 and saith, 'I cause you to come up out of Egypt, and bring you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers, and say, I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye — ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land — their altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My voice — what [is] this ye have done?
I also told you not to make any agreements with the people living in the land and to tear down their altars. But you refused to obey what I said. Why did you do this?
3 And I also have said, I do not cast them out from your presence, and they have been to you for adversaries, and their gods are to you for a snare.'
I also warned you, ‘I will not drive them out before you, and they will be snares for you, and their gods will be traps for you.’”
4 And it cometh to pass, when the messenger of Jehovah speaketh these words unto all the sons of Israel, that the people lift up their voice and weep,
After the angel of the Lord had explained this to all the Israelites, the people wept out loud.
5 and they call the name of that place Bochim, and sacrifice there to Jehovah.
That's why they named the place Bokim, and they presented sacrifices there to the Lord.
6 And Joshua sendeth the people away, and the sons of Israel go, each to his inheritance, to possess the land;
After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites went to take possession of the land, each to their allotted land.
7 and the people serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua, who saw all the great work of Jehovah which He did to Israel.
The people continued to worship the Lord throughout Joshua's life, and throughout the lifetimes of the elders who outlived him, those who had seen all the wonderful things that the Lord had done for Israel.
8 And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Jehovah, dieth, a son of a hundred and ten years,
Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten.
9 and they bury him in the border of his inheritance, in Timnath-Heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of mount Gaash;
They buried him in Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash, the land he had been allocated.
10 and also all that generation have been gathered unto their fathers, and another generation riseth after them who have not known Jehovah, and even the work which He hath done to Israel.
Once that generation had passed away, the generation that followed did not know the Lord, or what he had done for Israel.
11 And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and serve the Baalim,
The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and they worshiped the Baals.
12 and forsake Jehovah, God of their fathers, who bringeth them out from the land of Egypt, and go after other gods (of the gods of the peoples who [are] round about them), and bow themselves to them, and provoke Jehovah,
They deserted the Lord, the God of their forefathers, who had led them out of Egypt. They followed other gods, bowing down in worship to the gods of the peoples around them, making the Lord angry.
13 yea, they forsake Jehovah, and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth.
They deserted the Lord and worshiped Baal and Ashtaroth idols.
14 And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He giveth them into the hand of spoilers, and they spoil them, and He selleth them into the hand of their enemies round about, and they have not been able any more to stand before their enemies;
Because the Lord was angry with Israel he handed them over to invaders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around—enemies they could no longer resist.
15 in every [place] where they have gone out, the hand of Jehovah hath been against them for evil, as Jehovah hath spoken, and as Jehovah hath sworn to them, and they are distressed — greatly.
Whenever Israel went into battle, the Lord fought against them and defeated them, just as he had warned them and as he had vowed he would do. They were in a great deal of trouble.
16 And Jehovah raiseth up judges, and they save them from the hand of their spoilers;
Then the Lord provided them with judges, who saved them from their invaders.
17 and also unto their judges they have not hearkened, but have gone a-whoring after other gods, and bow themselves to them; they have turned aside [with] haste out of the way [in] which their fathers walked to obey the commands of Jehovah — they have not done so.
But even so, they refused to listen to their judges, and prostituted themselves by following other gods, bowing down in worship to them. They quickly abandoned the way their forefathers had followed, and they did not obey the Lord's commandments as their forefathers had.
18 And when Jehovah raised up to them judges — then was Jehovah with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repenteth Jehovah, because of their groaning from the presence of their oppressors, and of those thrusting them away.
When the Lord provided Israel with judges over Israel, he was with each judge and saved the people from their enemies during that judge's lifetime, because the Lord felt sorry for his people, who groaned under their oppressors and persecutors.
19 And it hath come to pass, at the death of the judge — they turn back and have done corruptly above their fathers, to go after other gods, to serve them, and to bow themselves to them; they have not fallen from their doings, and from their stiff way.
But when the judge died, the people relapsed, and did worse things even than their forefathers, following other gods and worshiping them. They refused to give up what they were doing and held to their stubborn ways.
20 And the anger of Jehovah doth burn against Israel, and He saith, 'Because that this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to My voice —
As a result the Lord became angry with Israel and he told them, “Because this nation has broken the agreement I ordered their forefathers to obey, and has not paid attention to what I said,
21 I also continue not to dispossess any from before them of the nations which Joshua hath left when he dieth,
from now on I won't drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
22 in order to try Israel by them, whether they are keeping the way of Jehovah, to go in it, as their fathers kept [it] or not.'
This is in order to use them to test Israel to see if they will keep the way of the Lord and follow it as their forefathers did.”
23 And Jehovah leaveth these nations, so as not to dispossess them hastily, and did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
This is the reason why the Lord allowed those nations to remain, and didn't immediately drive them out by handing them over to Joshua.
