Judges 3:1-6
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord Tests Israel
3 These are the nations the Lord left in order to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan.(A) 2 This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before. 3 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 from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.[a] 4 The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord’s commands he had given their ancestors through Moses.(F) 5 But they settled among the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6 The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.(G)
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- 3:3 Or as Lebo-hamath
Judges 3:1-6
New English Translation
3 These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel—he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites.[a] 2 He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war.[b] 3 These were the nations:[c] the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.[d] 4 They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses.[e]
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6 They took the Canaanites’ daughters as wives and gave their daughters to the Canaanites;[f] they worshiped[g] their gods as well.
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- Judges 3:1 tn Heb “did not know the wars of Canaan.”
- Judges 3:2 tn The Hebrew syntax of v. 2 is difficult. The Hebrew text reads literally, “only in order that the generations of the Israelites might know, to teach them war—only those who formerly did not know them.”sn The stated purpose for leaving the nations (to teach the subsequent generations…how to conduct holy war) seems to contradict 2:22 and 3:4, which indicate the nations were left to test Israel’s loyalty to the Lord. However, the two stated purposes can be harmonized. The willingness of later generations to learn and engage in holy war would measure their allegiance to the Lord (see B. G. Webb, Judges [JSOTSup], 114-15).
- Judges 3:3 tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 3:3 tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.”
- Judges 3:4 tn Heb “to know if they would hear the commands of the Lord which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.”
- Judges 3:6 tn Heb “to their sons.”
- Judges 3:6 tn Or “served”; or “followed” (this term occurs in the following verse as well).
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