Judges 2
2
The Angel of the Lord at Bokim
1The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you to the land I promised to give your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my agreement with you. 2But you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You must destroy their altars.’ But you did not obey me. How could you do this? 3Now I tell you, ‘I will not force out the people in this land. They will be your enemies, and their gods will be a trap for you.’ ”
4After the angel gave Israel this message from the Lord, they cried loudly. 5So they named the place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
Joshua Dies
6Then Joshua sent the people back to their land. 7The people served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who lived after Joshua and who had seen what great things the Lord had done for Israel. 8Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred ten. 9They buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
The People Disobey
10After those people had died, their children grew up and did not know the Lord or what he had done for Israel. 11So they did what the Lord said was wrong, and they worshiped the Baal idols. 12They quit following the Lord, the God of their ancestors who had brought them out of Egypt. They began to worship the gods of the people who lived around them, and that made the Lord angry. 13The Israelites quit following the Lord and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth. 14The Lord was angry with the people of Israel, so he handed them over to robbers who took their possessions. He let their enemies who lived around them defeat them; they could not protect themselves. 15When the Israelites went out to fight, they always lost, because the Lord was not with them. The Lord had sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites suffered very much.
God Chooses Judges
16Then the Lord chose leaders called judges, who saved the Israelites from the robbers. 17But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. They were not faithful to God but worshiped other gods instead. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they quickly turned away and did not obey. 18When their enemies hurt them, the Israelites cried for help. So the Lord felt sorry for them and sent judges to save them from their enemies. The Lord was with those judges all their lives. 19But when the judges died, the Israelites again sinned and worshiped other gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.
20So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me. 21I will no longer defeat the nations who were left when Joshua died. 22I will use them to test Israel, to see if Israel will keep the Lord’s commands as their ancestors did.” 23In the past the Lord had permitted those nations to stay in the land. He did not quickly force them out or help Joshua’s army defeat them.
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Judges 2: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Judges 2
2
The Angel of the LORD at Bochim
1The angel of the LORD went from Gilgal to Bochim and said to the Israelites, “I took you out of Egypt and brought you to the land that I promised to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. 2#Ex 34.12–13; Deut 7.2–5You must not make any covenant with the people who live in this land. You must tear down their altars.’ But you have not done what I told you. You have done just the opposite! 3So I tell you now that I will not drive these people out as you advance. They will be your enemies,#2.3 Some ancient translations enemies; Hebrew sides. and you will be trapped by the worship of their gods.” 4When the angel had said this, all the people of Israel began to cry, 5and that is why the place is called Bochim.#2.5 Bochim: This name in Hebrew means “those who cry”. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD.
The Death of Joshua
6Joshua sent the people of Israel on their way, and each man went to take possession of his own share of the land. 7As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the LORD, and after his death they continued to do so as long as the leaders were alive who had seen for themselves all the great things that the LORD had done for Israel. 8The LORD's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of 110. 9#Josh 19.49–50He was buried in his own part of the land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. 10That whole generation also died, and the next generation forgot the LORD and what he had done for Israel.
Israel Stops Worshipping the LORD
11Then the people of Israel sinned against the LORD and began to serve the Baals. 12They stopped worshipping the LORD, the God of their ancestors, the God who had brought them out of Egypt, and they began to worship other gods, the gods of the peoples round them. They bowed down to them and made the LORD angry. 13They stopped worshipping the LORD and served the Baals and the Astartes. 14And so the LORD became furious with Israel and let raiders attack and rob them. He let enemies all around overpower them, and the Israelites could no longer protect themselves. 15Every time they went into battle, the LORD was against them, just as he had said he would be. They were in great distress.
16Then the LORD gave the Israelites leaders who saved them from the raiders. 17But the Israelites paid no attention to their leaders. Israel was unfaithful to the LORD and worshipped other gods. Their fathers had obeyed the LORD's commands, but this new generation soon stopped doing so. 18Whenever the LORD gave Israel a leader, the LORD would help that leader and would save the people from their enemies as long as that leader lived. The LORD would have mercy on them because they groaned under their suffering and oppression. 19But when the leader died, the people used to return to the old ways and behave worse than the previous generation. They would serve and worship other gods, and refused to give up their own evil ways. 20Then the LORD would become furious with Israel and say, “This nation has broken the covenant that I commanded their ancestors to keep. Because they have not obeyed me, 21I will no longer drive out any of the nations that were still in the land when Joshua died. 22I will use them to find out whether or not these Israelites will follow my ways, as their ancestors did.” 23So the LORD allowed those nations to remain in the land; he did not give Joshua victory over them, nor did he drive them out soon after Joshua's death.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.