Open English Translation JDG Chapter 2

2 Then Yahweh’s messenger went from Gilgal to Bokim and told the Israelis, “I brought you all out of Egypt and led you here to this land that I promised to your ancestors. I had said that I wouldn’t ever break my agreement with you all, 2 but that you mustn’t form treaties with the peoples who lived here, rather you must tear down their altars. But you all haven’t obeyed what I said. What have you gone and done?[ref] 3 So I’m telling you that I won’t drive your enemies out ahead of you, but they’ll be like thorns in your sides and you’ll all end up being enslaved to their idols.” 4 When Yahweh’s messenger finished saying that, the people wept loudly, 5 so they called that place Bokim (which means ‘weeping’) and they offered sacrifices to Yahweh there.

6 Then Yehoshua dismissed the people and the tribes went to their various regions to take possession of the land. 7 The people obeyed Yahweh as long as Yehoshua and the elders who had seen the great things that Yahweh had done for Israel, were alive. 8 Then Yahweh’s servant Yehoshua (son of Nun) died at the age of 110 9 and they buried him in his allocated land at Timnat-Heres, inside Efraim’s hill country territory north of Mt. Gaash.[ref]

10 When all of that generation had passed away, the next generation didn’t know Yahweh or even know about what he’d done for the Israelis. 11 They did things that Yahweh considered evil and worshipped Baal idols 12 and abandoned the god of their ancestors, Yahweh, the one who brought them out of Egypt. Instead they went after other gods—the gods of the people around them. They worshipped them and that made Yahweh angry. 13 They abandoned Yahweh and worshipped the Baal and Ashtarot idols. 14 So Yahweh got angry with Israel so he caused raiders to come and take their property and he allowed their enemies to become more powerful so they could no longer stand against them. 15 Whenever the Israelis went into battle, Yahweh worked against them just like he’d said he would and they became very distressed.

16 Then Yahweh gave them leaders[fn] to save them from the raiders. 17 However they wouldn’t listen to those leaders either—continuing to prostitute themselves to other gods and bowing down to idols. They rapidly turned away from their ancestors’ ways and showed no interest in obeying Yahweh’s instructions. 18 Whenever Yahweh gave them a leader, he would support that leader and would save them from their enemies during that leader’s life, because he pitied the people when they groaned from being tormented and oppressed. 19 But then at the death of that leader, they would turn back and behave more corruptly than their ancestors—following other gods and bowing down to idols. They didn’t stop any of their evil activities or their shameless behaviour 20 so Yahweh was very angry at Israel and said, “This nation has broken the agreement that I made with their ancestors and haven’t done what I told them to. 21 I won’t keep driving the people groups away that remained when Yehoshua died, 22 so as to use them to test Israel to see whether the Israelis will obey my instructions like their ancestors did, or not. 23 So Yahweh allowed those people groups to stay on, and hence they hadn’t been handed over to Yehoshua.