2:1 The Lord’s angelic messenger ¹  went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you into the land I had solemnly promised to give to your ancestors. ²  I said, ‘I will never break my agreement ³  with you, 2:2 but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.’ ⁴  But you have disobeyed me. ⁵  Why would you do such a thing? ⁶  2:3 At that time I also warned you, ⁷  ‘If you disobey, ⁸  I will not drive out the Canaanites ⁹  before you. They will ensnare you ¹⁰  and their gods will lure you away.’” ¹¹ 

2:4 When the Lord’s messenger finished speaking these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. ¹²  2:5 They named that place Bokim ¹³  and offered sacrifices to the Lord there.

2:6 When Joshua dismissed ¹⁴  the people, the Israelites went to their allotted portions of territory, ¹⁵  intending to take possession of the land. 2:7 The people worshiped ¹⁶  the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men ¹⁷  who outlived him remained alive. These men had witnessed ¹⁸  all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ¹⁹  2:8 Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 2:9 The people ²⁰  buried him in his allotted land ²¹  in Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 2:10 That entire generation passed away; ²²  a new generation grew up ²³  that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. ²⁴ 

2:11 The Israelites did evil before ²⁵  the Lord by worshiping ²⁶  the Baals. 2:12 They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors ²⁷  who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods – the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped ²⁸  them and made the Lord angry. 2:13 They abandoned the Lord and worshiped Baal and the Ashtars. ²⁹ 

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel ³⁰  and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. ³¹  He turned them over to ³²  their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. ³³  2:15 Whenever they went out to fight, ³⁴  the Lord did them harm, ³⁵  just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. ³⁶  They suffered greatly. ³⁷ 

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders ³⁸  who delivered them from these robbers. ³⁹  2:17 But they did not obey ⁴⁰  their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped ⁴¹  them. They quickly turned aside from the path ⁴²  their ancestors ⁴³  had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. ⁴⁴  2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people ⁴⁵  from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them ⁴⁶  when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. ⁴⁷  2:19 When a leader died, the next generation ⁴⁸  would again ⁴⁹  act more wickedly than the previous one. ⁵⁰  They would follow after other gods, worshiping them ⁵¹  and bowing down to them. They did not give up ⁵²  their practices or their stubborn ways.

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. ⁵³  He said, “This nation ⁵⁴  has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors ⁵⁵  by disobeying me. ⁵⁶  2:21 So I will no longer remove before them any of the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 2:22 Joshua left those nations ⁵⁷  to test ⁵⁸  Israel. I wanted to see ⁵⁹  whether or not the people ⁶⁰  would carefully walk in the path ⁶¹  marked out by ⁶²  the Lord, as their ancestors ⁶³  were careful to do.” 2:23 This is why ⁶⁴  the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; ⁶⁵  he did not hand them over to Joshua.