The Lord Tests Israel

These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since the Israelites had fought none of these in[a] any of the wars with Canaan.(A) This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.[b] These nations included: the five rulers(B) of the Philistines(C) and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians,(D) and the Hivites(E) who lived in the Lebanese mountains[c] from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.[d] The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord’s commands He had given their fathers through[e] Moses.(F) But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.(G)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:1 Lit had known
  2. Judges 3:2 Lit not known it
  3. Judges 3:3 LXX reads in Lebanon
  4. Judges 3:3 Or as Lebo-hamath
  5. Judges 3:4 Lit by the hand of

Bible Gateway Recommends