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And Malach Hashem went up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Mitzrayim, and have brought you unto HaAretz which I swore unto your avot; and I said, I will never (l’olam) break My brit (covenant) with you.

And ye shall make no brit with the inhabitants of HaAretz HaZot; ye shall throw down their mizbechot. But ye have not obeyed My voice; why have ye done this?

Therefore I said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall flank you in, and their elohim shall be a mokesh unto you.

And it came to pass, when the Malach Hashem spoke these words unto kol Bnei Yisroel, that HaAm lifted up their voice, and wept.

And they called the shem of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there unto Hashem.

And when Yehoshua had let HaAm go, the Bnei Yisroel went every ish unto his nachalah to possess HaAretz.

And HaAm served Hashem all the days of Yehoshua, and all the days of the zekenim that outlived Yehoshua, who had seen kol ma’aseh Hashem hagadol, that He did for Yisroel.

And Yehoshua ben Nun, the Eved Hashem, died, being a hundred and ten years old.

And they buried him in the territory of his nachalah in Timnat-Cheres, in the Har Ephrayim, on the north side of the Har Gaash.

10 And also all that dor were gathered unto their avot; and there arose another dor after them, which had no da’as of Hashem, nor yet the ma’aseh which He had done for Yisroel.

11 And the Bnei Yisroel did harah in the sight of Hashem, and served Baalim;

12 And they forsook Hashem Elohei Avotam, which brought them out of Eretz Mitzrayim, and followed acharei elohim, of the elohei ha’amim that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked Hashem to anger.

13 And they forsook Hashem, and served Baal and Ashtarot.

14 And the Af Hashem was hot against Yisroel, and He delivered them into the hands of plunderers that plundered them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, that they were not any longer able to stand before their enemies.

15 Whenever they went out, the yad Hashem was against them for ra’ah, just as Hashem had said, and just as Hashem had sworn unto them; and they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless Hashem raised up Shofetim, which saved them out of the yad of those that plundered them.

17 And yet they would not pay heed unto their Shofetim, but they went a-whoring after acharei elohim, and bowed themselves unto them; they turned quickly from HaDerech which their Avot walked in, the Way of obedience to the mitzvot Hashem; but they did not so.

18 And when Hashem raised them up Shofetim, then Hashem was with the Shofet, and saved them out of the yad of their enemies all the days of the Shofet; for it relented Hashem because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and afflicted them.

19 And it came to pass, when the Shofet was dead, that they turned again, and corrupted themselves more than their avot, in following acharei elohim to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their derech hakashah (stubborn way).

20 And the Af Hashem was hot against Yisroel; and He said, Because this people hath violated My brit (covenant) which I commanded their Avot, and have not paid heed unto My voice;

21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the Goyim which Yehoshua left when he died;

22 That through them I may test Yisroel, whether they will be shomrim Derech Hashem to walk therein, just as their Avot were shomer, or no.

23 Therefore Hashem let those Goyim remain, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered He them into the yad Yehoshua.

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

The angel of the Lord(A) went up from Gilgal(B) to Bokim(C) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(D) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(E) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(F) and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(G) but you shall break down their altars.(H)’ Yet you have disobeyed(I) me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(J) they will become traps(K) for you, and their gods will become snares(L) to you.’”

When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(M) and they called that place Bokim.[a](N) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(O)

After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(P)

Joshua son of Nun,(Q) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[b](R) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(S) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(T) in the eyes of the Lord(U) and served the Baals.(V) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(W) of the peoples around them.(X) They aroused(Y) the Lord’s anger(Z) 13 because they forsook(AA) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(AB) 14 In his anger(AC) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(AD) of raiders who plundered(AE) them. He sold them(AF) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(AG) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(AH) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(AI)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[c](AJ) who saved(AK) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(AL) themselves to other gods(AM) and worshiped them.(AN) They quickly turned(AO) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(AP) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(AQ) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(AR) because of their groaning(AS) under those who oppressed and afflicted(AT) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(AU) than those of their ancestors,(AV) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(AW) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(AX) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(AY) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(AZ) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(BA) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(BB) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(BC)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  2. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  3. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19