Israel’s Disobedience

2 Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: ^(A)“I led you up from Egypt and ^(B)brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and ^(C)I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. ² And ^(D)you shall make no ^[a]covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ^(E)you shall tear down their altars.’ ^(F)But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? ³ Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be ^(G)thorns^[b] in your side, and ^(H)their gods shall ^[c]be a ^(I)snare to you.’ ” ⁴ So it was, when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

⁵ Then they called the name of that place ^[d]Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

⁸ Now ^(A)Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old.

¹⁰ When all that generation had ^[a]been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who ^(A)did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

¹¹ Then the children of Israel did ^(B)evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals;

¹⁸ And when the Lord raised up judges for them, ^(A)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; ^(B)for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them. ¹⁹ And it came to pass, ^(C)when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers, by following other gods, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

²⁰ Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has ^(D)transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, ²¹ I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua ^(E)left when he died, ²² so ^(F)that through them I may ^(G)test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.” ²³ Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.