After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

Yahweh said, “Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”

Judah went up, and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They struck ten thousand men in Bezek.

Yahweh was with Judah, and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and Yahweh was with them.

Yahweh’s angel came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, “I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to give your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you.

When Yahweh’s angel spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice and wept.

They called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to Yahweh.

The people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Yahweh that he had worked for Israel.

Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old.

After all that generation were gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who didn’t know Yahweh, nor the work which he had done for Israel.

The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals.

They abandoned Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; and they provoked Yahweh to anger.

They abandoned Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Wherever they went out, Yahweh’s hand was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them; and they were very distressed.

Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

Yet they didn’t listen to their judges; for they prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed themselves down to them. They quickly turned away from the way in which their fathers walked, obeying Yahweh’s commandments. They didn’t do so.

When Yahweh raised up judges for them, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it grieved Yahweh because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.

Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel; and he said, “Because this nation transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to my voice,

that by them I may test Israel, to see if they will keep Yahweh’s way to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not.”

So Yahweh left those nations, without driving them out hastily. He didn’t deliver them into Joshua’s hand.

Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, to test Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

They were left to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to Yahweh’s commandments, which he commanded their fathers by Moses.

The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.