Judges 2

All 23 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1An angel of the LORD traveled from Gilgal to Bochim and said, "I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I promised to your ancestors. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you."
2. 2"You were not to make any covenant with the people living in this land. You were to tear down their altars. But you haven't obeyed me. Why have you done this?"
3. 3Therefore, I also said, "I will not drive them out from before you; but they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you."
4. 4When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, they raised their voices and wept.
5. 5They named that place Bochim, and they offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
6. 6After Joshua dismissed the people, each man of Israel went to his own inheritance to possess the land.
7. 7The people served the LORD throughout Joshua's lifetime and the lifetimes of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works the LORD did for Israel.
8. 8Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
9. 9They buried him within the boundary of his inheritance at Timnathheres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the hill Gaash.
10. 10That entire generation died and joined their ancestors. The generation that came after them didn't know the LORD or what he had done for Israel.
11. 11The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD by worshiping the Baals.
12. 12They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors who had brought them out of Egypt. Instead, they chased after the gods of the nations around them, bowing down to worship them. This provoked the LORD to anger.
13. 13They turned their backs on the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14. 14The LORD's anger burned against Israel. He handed them over to raiders who plundered them and sold them into the power of their surrounding enemies. They could no longer hold their own in battle.
15. 15Every time they went out to fight, the LORD's hand was against them, bringing disaster — exactly as he had warned them, exactly as he had sworn. They suffered terribly.
16. 16Even so, the LORD raised up judges who rescued them from the people plundering them.
17. 17But they refused to listen even to their judges. They prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly abandoned the path their ancestors had walked — the path of obeying the LORD's commandments. They refused to follow it.
18. 18Whenever the LORD appointed judges for them, the LORD was with the judge and rescued them from their enemies throughout the judge's lifetime. The LORD felt sorrow because of their groaning under those who oppressed and troubled them.
19. 19But as soon as the judge died, the people went right back to their old ways — and became even more corrupt than the generation before them, chasing after other gods, serving them, and bowing down to them. They refused to give up their sinful practices or their stubborn ways.
20. 20The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he said, "Because this nation has broken the covenant I gave their ancestors and has refused to listen to me,
21. 21I will no longer drive out any of the nations that Joshua left behind when he died.
22. 22I will use those nations to test Israel — to see whether or not they will follow the LORD's way and walk in it, as their ancestors did."
23. 23So the LORD let those nations remain. He didn't drive them out quickly, and he didn't hand them over to Joshua.