Judges, 2

1. The Angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bochim where the Israelites were gathered, and he said to them, "I made you go up from Egypt and brought you to the land I had promised your fathers. I said to them, 'Never will I break my covenant with you,

2. but you shall not make any covenant with the Canaanites and shall destroy their altars.' But you have not obeyed my command. Why did you not obey me?

3. Now, I will not drive out these nations before you. They shall be your oppressors and their gods shall be a trap for you."

4. After the Angel of Yahweh had spoken, all the Israelites began to weep and cry.

5. For this reason, they named that place Bochim, which means "those who weep," and they offered sacrifices to Yahweh.

6. When Joshua dismissed the Israelites, each one of them went to his inheritance to occupy the land.

7. The people served Yahweh during the lifetime of Joshua and of the leaders who outlived him, and who had witnessed all the great works of Yahweh for Israel.

8. Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of Moses, died at the age of one hundred and ten years.

9. They buried him at the boundary of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

10. That whole generation died and another one came, but they did not know Yahweh or what he had done for Israel.

11. The Israelites treated Yahweh badly for they served the Baals instead.

12. They abandoned Yahweh, the God of their fathers who had brought them out of Egypt, and served other gods, the gods of the neighboring peoples. They bowed before those gods and offended Yahweh.

13. When Yahweh saw that they had abandoned him to serve Baal and Ashtaroth,

14. he became angry with his people and gave them into the hands of plunderers who left them in misery. He himself sold them to their enemies who completely surrounded the Israelites, so that these Israelites could no longer withstand them.

15. Whenever they felt strong for an offensive, Yahweh would turn against them and send evil upon them, as he had warned them and sworn to do. And this caused much distress and anguish for the Israelites.

16. Yahweh raised up "judges" (or liberators) who saved the Israelites from their exploiters.

17. But neither did they obey those "judges" for they still prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They soon left the way of their fathers who obeyed the commandments of Yahweh; they did not follow the way of their fathers.

18. When Yahweh made a judge appear among his people, Yahweh was with him and saved them from their enemies. That lasted as long as the judge lived, for Yahweh was moved to pity by the lament of his people who were oppressed and persecuted.

19. But when the judge died, they again became worse than their fathers - worshiping and serving other gods. They would not renounce their pagan practices and stubborn ways.

20. Yahweh was angry and he said, "These people broke the Covenant I made with their fathers and they refuse to obey me.

21. Well now, neither shall I drive out before them any of the nations left when Joshua died.

22. And I shall test the Israelites through those nations; then I shall know if they will finally follow my ways as their fathers did."

23. So Yahweh left those nations in their place and did not take the land immediately from them. This was also why he did not give them into the hands of Joshua.