2:16 The Lord raised up leaders 1 who delivered them from these robbers. 2 2:17 But they did not obey 3 their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped 4 them. They quickly turned aside from the path 5 their ancestors 6 had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not. 7 2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people 8 from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them 9 when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them. 10 2:19 When a leader died, the next generation 11 would again 12 act more wickedly than the previous one. 13 They would follow after other gods, worshiping them 14 and bowing down to them. They did not give up 15 their practices or their stubborn ways.
2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel. 16 He said, “This nation 17 has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors 18 by disobeying me. 19 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 20 to test 21 Israel. I wanted to see 22 whether or not the people 23 would carefully walk in the path 24 marked out by 25 the Lord, as their ancestors 26 were careful to do.” 2:23 This is why 27 the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately; 28 he did not hand them over to Joshua.
1 tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”
2 tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”
3 tn Or “did not listen to.”
4 tn Or “bowed before.”
5 tn Or “way [of life].”
6 tn Or “fathers.”
7 tn Heb “…walked, obeying the
8 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.
11 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.
13 tn Heb “their fathers.”
14 tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”
15 tn Or “drop.”
16 tn Or “The
17 tn Heb “Because this nation.”
18 tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”
19 tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.
20 tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the
21 tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.
22 tn The words “I [i.e., the
23 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24 tn Or “way [of life].”
25 tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.
26 tn Or “fathers.”
27 tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.
28 tn Or “quickly.”