Judges 2
Expanded Bible
The Angel of the Lord at Bokim
2 The ·angel [messenger] of the Lord [C an angelic spokesperson for God, sometimes identified with the Lord himself; Gen. 16:7; Ex. 14:19; 23:20] 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 [covenant] with you [Gen. 17:7; Ex. 6:4]. 2 But you must not make an ·agreement [covenant] with the people who live in this land [Ex. 23:32]. You must ·destroy [tear down] their altars [Deut. 7:2].’ But you did not obey me. How could you do this [L What is this you have done]? 3 ·Now I tell you [or Then I told you; Num. 33:55; Josh. 23:12–13], ‘I will not ·force [drive] out the people in this land. They will ·be your enemies [or ensnare you; or be thorns in your side], and their gods will be a ·trap [snare] for you.’”
4 After the angel gave ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel] this message from the Lord, they ·cried loudly [L lifted up their voices and wept]. 5 So they named the place Bokim [C “weeping ones”]. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
Joshua Dies
6 After Joshua ·dismissed [sent away] the people, the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] went to take possession of the land that they had been given. 7 The people ·served [worshiped; remained faithful to] the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who ·lived after [outlived] Joshua and who had seen what great things the Lord had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred ten. 9 They buried him in ·his own land [the territory of his inheritance] at Timnath Heres [C also known as Timnath Serah; Josh. 19:50; 24:30] in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
The People Disobey
10 After ·those people [L the whole generation] ·had died [L were gathered to their fathers/ancestors], ·their children [L another generation] grew up and did not know the Lord or what he had done for Israel. 11 So ·they [L the sons/T children of Israel] did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord], and they worshiped the ·Baal idols [L Baals; C Baal was the main god of the Canaanites, but had many local manifestations]. 12 They ·quit following [abandoned] 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. 13 The Israelites ·quit following [abandoned] the Lord and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth. 14 The Lord was angry with the people of Israel, so he ·handed them over to [gave them into the hand of] ·robbers [raiders; plunderers] who took their possessions. He ·let their enemies who lived around them defeat them [L sold them into the hand of their enemies around them]; they could not ·protect themselves [resist/L stand before them]. 15 When the Israelites went out to fight, ·they always lost, because the Lord was not with them [L the hand of the Lord was against them for harm/evil]. The Lord had sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites ·suffered very much [were in great distress].
God Chooses Judges
16 Then the Lord ·chose leaders called [L raised up] ·judges [leaders; C not courtroom judges, but leaders who guided the nation through difficult times, sometimes as military commanders], ·who saved the Israelites from [L to deliver them from the hand of] the ·robbers [raiders; plunderers]. 17 But the Israelites did not listen to their ·judges [leaders; v. 16]. They ·were not faithful to God but [L prostituted themselves to and] worshiped other gods instead. Their ancestors had ·obeyed [L walked in the way/path of] the Lord’s commands, but they quickly turned away and did not obey. 18 Whenever the Lord sent ·judges [leaders] to save the Israelites from their enemies, he was with that ·judge [leader] and rescued the people during that ·judge’s [leader’s] lifetime. The Lord ·felt sorry for them [took pity on them; or relented] when they cried for help because of those who ·hurt [oppressed and afflicted] them. 19 But when the ·judges [leaders; 2:16] died, the Israelites ·again sinned [returned to their corrupt ways] and worshiped other gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.
20 So the ·Lord became angry with [L anger of the Lord burned against] the Israelites. He said, “These people have ·broken [violated] the ·agreement [covenant] I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me. 21 I will no longer ·defeat [L drive out before them] the nations who were left when Joshua died. 22 I will use them to test Israel, to see if Israel will keep ·the Lord’s commands [L the way of the Lord to walk in it] as their ancestors did.” 23 In the past the Lord had permitted those nations to stay in the land. He did not quickly ·force [drive] them out or ·help Joshua’s army defeat them [L give them into the hand of Joshua].
Judges 2
New King James Version
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. 6 And when (J)Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.
Death of Joshua(K)
7 (L)So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8 Now (M)Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. 9 (N)And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at (O)Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 10 When all that generation had [e]been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who (P)did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
11 Then the children of Israel did (Q)evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals; 12 and they (R)forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed (S)other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they (T)bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They forsook the Lord (U)and served [f]Baal and the [g]Ashtoreths. 14 (V)And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He (W)delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and (X)He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they (Y)could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had (Z)sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.
16 Nevertheless, (AA)the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they (AB)played the harlot with other gods, and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so. 18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, (AC)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; (AD)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, (AE)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 (AF)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 (AG)left when he died, 22 so (AH)that through them I may (AI)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.
Footnotes
- Judges 2:2 treaty
- Judges 2:3 LXX, Tg., Vg. enemies to you
- Judges 2:3 entrap you
- Judges 2:5 Lit. Weeping
- Judges 2:10 Died and joined their ancestors
- Judges 2:13 A Canaanite god
- Judges 2:13 Canaanite goddesses
Judges 2
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 2
The Israelites Break the Covenant.[a] 1 An angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim[b] and said, “I brought you up from out of the land of Egypt and led you to the land that I had promised your fathers saying, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. 2 Make no covenant with the people of this land. Break down their altars.’ But you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now I proclaim to you that I will not drive them out from before you. They will be like thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.” 4 When the angel of the Lord said these things to the Israelites, the people wept out loud. 5 They named that place Bochim, and they offered sacrifices to the Lord there.
The Death of Joshua. 6 After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites all went to their inheritances and they took possession of the land. 7 The people served the Lord during Joshua’s lifetime and the lifetimes of the elders who survived Joshua and who had seen all of the great things that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 They buried him within the land that was his inheritance, at Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, to the north of Mount Gaash.
10 Infidelity of the People. When that whole generation had been gathered home to their fathers, another generation arose after them that did not know the Lord[c] or the works that he had done for Israel. 11 [d]The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, serving the Baals. 12 They abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out from the land of Egypt. They followed other gods, the gods of the people who lived around them, and they worshiped them. This provoked the Lord’s anger 13 because they had abandoned him to serve Baal and the Astartes. 14 The Lord’s anger blazed out against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies living around them so that they could not stand up to them anymore. 15 Whenever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as the Lord had told them, for the Lord had promised this to them. They therefore suffered terribly.
16 Deliverance through Judges. However, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hands of those raiders. 17 Yet, they would not listen to the judges, and they prostituted themselves after other gods, worshiping them. They quickly turned away from the way in which their fathers had walked, that of obeying the commandments of the Lord. They did not do this. 18 When the Lord raised up judges, the Lord was with the judge. He delivered them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, for the Lord had mercy on them when they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them.
19 But when the judge died,[e] they turned back and became even worse than their fathers, following other gods, serving and worshiping them. They would not abandon their selfish, stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the Lord blazed out against Israel and he said, “Because this people has sinned against the covenant that I gave to their fathers and they have not heeded my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out any of the nations before them that were left when Joshua died. 22 Thus, I will test Israel, to see whether or not they will keep to the way of the Lord, walking in it as their fathers did.” 23 The Lord therefore left those nations there, not hurrying to drive them out, nor delivering them into Joshua’s hands.
Footnotes
- Judges 2:1 The explanation given by the angels offers a religious interpretation of Israel’s failures; this is a later reflection by the Deuteronomist redactor as he attempts to understand the reason for the failures.
- Judges 2:1 Bochim: Hebrew for “weeper.” It was a sacred place near Gilgal.
- Judges 2:10 Did not know the Lord: we may not know why the Israelites drifted from their spiritual roots, but we do know that a faithful remnant stayed faithful to the Lord.
- Judges 2:11 Baals: lords, the gods of the country (2 Ki 17:24-33). “Baal and the Astartes” (often in the plural) is the designation frequently used in the Old Testament for the Canaanite divinities, Baal being the masculine, and Astarte, the goddess of love and fruitfulness; the name of the latter is often replaced by the Hebrew word asherah, meaning a pole (see Jdg 3:7; Ex 34:13).
- Judges 2:19 When the judge died: a cycle of unfaithfulness to the Lord, followed by repentance and God’s deliverance, marked the time of the judges who led the Israelites temporarily but effectively.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
