Judges 2:14-23

Context

2:14 The Lord was furious with Israel¹ and handed them over to robbers who plundered them.² He turned them over to³ their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks.⁴ 2:15 Whenever they went out to fight,⁵ the Lord did them harm,⁶ just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do.⁷ They suffered greatly.⁸

2:16 The Lord raised up leaders⁹ who delivered them from these robbers.¹⁰ 2:17 But they did not obey¹¹ their leaders. Instead they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped¹² them. They quickly turned aside from the path¹³ their ancestors¹⁴ had walked. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord’s commands, but they did not.¹⁵ 2:18 When the Lord raised up leaders for them, the Lord was with each leader and delivered the people¹⁶ from their enemies while the leader remained alive. The Lord felt sorry for them¹⁷ when they cried out in agony because of what their harsh oppressors did to them.¹⁸ 2:19 When a leader died, the next generation¹⁹ would again²⁰ act more wickedly than the previous one.²¹ They would follow after other gods, worshiping them²² and bowing down to them. They did not give up²³ their practices or their stubborn ways.

A Divine Decision

2:20 The Lord was furious with Israel.²⁴ He said, “This nation²⁵ has violated the terms of the agreement I made with their ancestors²⁶ by disobeying me.²⁷ 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 nations²⁸ to test²⁹ Israel. I wanted to see³⁰ whether or not the people³¹ would carefully walk in the path³² marked out by³³ the Lord, as their ancestors³⁴ were careful to do.” 2:23 This is why³⁵ the Lord permitted these nations to remain and did not conquer them immediately;³⁶ he did not hand them over to Joshua.

[2:14] ¹tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:14] ²tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

[2:14] ³tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

[2:14] ⁴tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:15] ⁵tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

[2:15] ⁶tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

[2:15] ⁷tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

[2:15] ⁸tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

[2:16] ⁹tn 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.”

[2:16] ¹⁰tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

[2:17] ¹¹tn Or “did not listen to.”

[2:17] ¹²tn Or “bowed before.”

[2:17] ¹³tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:17] ¹⁴tn Or “fathers.”

[2:17] ¹⁵tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

[2:18] ¹⁶tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18] ¹⁷tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:18] ¹⁸tn 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.

[2:19] ¹⁹tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:19] ²⁰tn 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.

[2:19] ²¹tn Heb “their fathers.”

[2:19] ²²tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

[2:19] ²³tn Or “drop.”

[2:20] ²⁴tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

[2:20] ²⁵tn Heb “Because this nation.”

[2:20] ²⁶tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

[2:20] ²⁷tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.

[2:22] ²⁸tn 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 Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the present translation) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [’azav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)

[2:22] ²⁹tn 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.

[2:22] ³⁰tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[2:22] ³¹tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:22] ³²tn Or “way [of life].”

[2:22] ³³tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

[2:22] ³⁴tn Or “fathers.”

[2:23] ³⁵tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.

[2:23] ³⁶tn Or “quickly.”