Judges 2

And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

A messenger from the Divine journeyed from Gilgal to Bochim, declaring, "I liberated you from Egypt and guided you to the land promised to your ancestors. I vowed to always honor our sacred pact."

And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

Don't make alliances with the locals; destroy their worship places. But you've ignored my instructions. Why have you acted this way?

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

So I declared, I won't remove them from your path; they will be like painful thorns to you, and their false gods will trap you.

And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

When God's angel relayed His message to all of Israel's children, they were so moved that they cried out in tears.

And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.

In a place they named Bochim, they offered their sacrifices to the Lord, their hearts heavy with reverence and devotion.

And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

After Joshua sent the people on their way, each Israelite went to his own land, eager to claim his inheritance.

And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

Throughout Joshua's lifetime and the lives of the elders who survived him, people faithfully worshipped God. They had witnessed His mighty deeds for Israel and were moved by His love.

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

Joshua, the devoted servant of the LORD and son of Nun, passed away peacefully at the ripe age of 110.

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

They laid him to rest in his own land at Timnathheres, nestled in the mountains of Ephraim, shadowed by the northern side of Gaash hill.

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

The entire generation passed away, joining their ancestors in death. Then came a new generation, unfamiliar with the Lord and unaware of the miracles He had performed for Israel.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

The children of Israel broke God's heart by doing wrong and worshipping Baalim.

And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.

They abandoned the Lord, their ancestral God who freed them from Egypt, and pursued other gods. They worshipped these foreign deities, igniting the Lord's fury.

And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

They turned their backs on the Lord, choosing instead to worship Baal and Ashtaroth.

And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

God's anger burned against Israel, so He handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, leaving them unable to stand against them.

Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

No matter where they went, they felt the heavy hand of God against them, bringing misfortune as He had warned. They were deeply troubled.

Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

Despite their struggles, God compassionately appointed leaders who rescued them from those who sought to harm them.

And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.

Despite their judges' pleas, they stubbornly ignored them. They prostituted themselves to other gods, chasing after them and bowing down to them. They swiftly abandoned the path of their ancestors, who had faithfully followed God's commands. But they did not do the same.

And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

When God appointed leaders, He stood by them, rescuing the people from their enemies for as long as that leader lived. God was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed and tormented them.

And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

When the judge died, they fell back into their old ways, even worse than before. They chased after other gods, worshipping and bowing to them. They couldn't let go of their habits or their stubbornness.

And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

God's anger burned against Israel. He said, "These people have broken the covenant I commanded their ancestors and ignored my words."

I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

From now on, I won't remove any of the nations that remained when Joshua passed away.

That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

I want to test Israel's faithfulness, to see if they will follow God's path like their ancestors did, or if they will stray.

Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

So, God chose to leave those nations intact, not rushing to uproot them; He didn't hand them over to Joshua either.