Judges 2
1 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to depart from Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
Seorang malaikat utusan TUHAN pergi dari Gilgal ke Bokim untuk menegur bangsa Israel. Dia menyampaikan pesan TUHAN yang berkata, “Aku sudah membawa kalian keluar dari Mesir menuju ke negeri yang Aku janjikan dengan bersumpah kepada nenek moyang kalian. Aku juga sudah berkata, ‘Aku tidak akan pernah mengingkari perjanjian-Ku dengan kalian.’
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Dan Aku telah menyuruh, ‘Kalian tidak boleh mengikat perjanjian dengan penduduk negeri ini, dan kalian harus menghancurkan mezbah-mezbah dewa mereka.’ Tetapi kalian sama sekali tidak taat kepada-Ku!
3 Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.
Karena itu Aku tidak akan lagi mengusir bangsa-bangsa Kanaan dari hadapan kalian. Mereka akan membuatmu menderita, dan kalian akan terjerat dalam penyembahan dewa mereka.”
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
Mendengar perkataan malaikat itu, umat Israel meratap dengan nyaring.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there to the LORD.
Selanjutnya tempat itu dinamai Bokim, artinya ‘tempat tangisan’. Mereka pun mempersembahkan kurban kepada TUHAN di sana.
6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land.
Dulu, sesudah bangsa Israel berhasil menguasai negeri Kanaan, Yosua membubarkan mereka supaya setiap suku pergi untuk menduduki tanah warisan yang sudah diberikan kepada mereka masing-masing.
7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
Bangsa Israel setia menyembah TUHAN semasa hidup Yosua dan para tua-tua yang hidup lebih lama daripadanya, yaitu generasi yang sudah menyaksikan seluruh perbuatan ajaib TUHAN bagi Israel.
8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
Yosua, hamba TUHAN itu, meninggal pada umur 110 tahun
9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
dan dikuburkan di tanah warisannya di Timnat Heres, di wilayah perbukitan Efraim, sebelah utara gunung Gaas.
10 And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Sesudah semua orang dari generasi itu meninggal, generasi berikutnya tidak mengenal TUHAN maupun perbuatan-perbuatan-Nya yang hebat bagi bangsa Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
Mereka berbuat jahat di mata TUHAN dan menyembah berbagai macam patung Baal.
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were around them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
Mereka meninggalkan TUHAN, Allah leluhur mereka, yang sudah membawa nenek moyang Israel keluar dari Mesir. Mereka malah bersujud menyembah dewa-dewa dari bangsa-bangsa di sekeliling mereka. Hal itu membuat TUHAN marah.
13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Mereka meninggalkan TUHAN dan menyembah dewa-dewa Baal dan dewi Astoret.
14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
Maka murka TUHAN berkobar atas bangsa Israel. Dia membiarkan musuh-musuh merampas harta mereka. Dia juga membuat Israel kalah ketika diserang oleh bangsa-bangsa musuh di sekeliling mereka, sehingga Israel tidak lagi sanggup menghadapi lawannya.
15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.
Sebagaimana sudah diperingatkan TUHAN dengan bersumpah, setiap kali Israel maju berperang, TUHAN membuat mereka kalah. Bangsa Israel pun sangat menderita.
16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
Lalu TUHAN mengangkat pembela-pembela untuk menyelamatkan bangsa Israel dari musuh-musuh yang menjarah mereka.
17 And yet they would not hearken to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods, and bowed themselves to them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.
Akan tetapi, umat Israel tidak mendengarkan hakim-hakim itu. Sebaliknya, mereka bersujud menyembah dewa-dewa. Mereka mengkhianati TUHAN seperti seorang istri yang mengkhianati suaminya dengan pergi melacur. Begitu cepatnya mereka menyimpang dari jalan hidup nenek moyang mereka yang taat kepada perintah TUHAN. Generasi ini sudah menyimpang.
18 And when the LORD raised up judges for them, then 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 repented because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and burdened them.
Setiap kali TUHAN mengangkat seorang hakim untuk bangsa Israel, TUHAN menyertai hakim itu seumur hidupnya dan menyelamatkan Israel dari musuh. TUHAN bertindak karena kasihan mendengar umat-Nya merintih akibat penindasan musuh.
19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Tetapi sesudah hakim itu meninggal, umat Israel kembali berbuat jahat, bahkan lebih jahat daripada generasi sebelumnya. Mereka menyembah dan mengabdi kepada dewa-dewa. Bangsa itu memang keras kepala dan tidak mau meninggalkan perbuatan-perbuatan mereka yang jahat.
20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to my voice;
Maka murka TUHAN berkobar atas bangsa Israel. Kata-Nya, “Bangsa ini sudah melanggar perjanjian yang Aku perintahkan kepada nenek moyang mereka dan tidak menaati perkataan-Ku,
21 I also will not henceforth drive out from before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
maka Aku tidak akan lagi mengusir bangsa apa pun yang masih tinggal di negeri itu setelah Yosua meninggal.
22 That through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.
Aku akan membiarkan bangsa-bangsa itu tetap di sana untuk menguji bangsa Israel, apakah mereka akan kembali hidup menurut jalan-Ku seperti generasi sebelumnya, atau tidak.”
23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out speedily; neither did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
Itulah alasan TUHAN tidak menyerahkan bangsa-bangsa itu ke tangan bangsa Israel pada zaman Yosua. Dia membiarkan musuh-musuh tetap di negeri itu dan tidak segera mengusir mereka.
