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Judges 2-3
English Standard Version
Judges 2-3
English Standard Version
Israel's Disobedience
2 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to (A)Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, (B)‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 (C)and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (D)you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, (E)I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become (F)thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.[a] And they sacrificed there to the Lord.
The Death of Joshua
6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 (G)And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of (H)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, (I)in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
Israel's Unfaithfulness
11 (J)And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 (K)And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. (L)They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and (M)bowed down to them. (N)And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord (O)and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 (P)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he (Q)gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. (R)And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, (S)so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, (T)and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
The Lord Raises Up Judges
16 (U)Then the Lord raised up judges, (V)who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for (W)they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. (X)They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, (Y)the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. (Z)For the Lord was moved to pity by (AA)their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But (AB)whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 (AC)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people (AD)have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 (AE)I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order (AF)to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
3 (AG)Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: (AH)the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for (AI)the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived (AJ)among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 (AK)And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
Othniel
7 (AL)And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and (AM)the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, (AN)and he sold them into the hand of (AO)Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel (AP)cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a (AQ)deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, (AR)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10 (AS)The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 (AT)So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 (AU)And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon (AV)the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the (AW)Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of (AX)the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 Then the people of Israel (AY)cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them (AZ)a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, (BA)a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit[b] in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back (BB)at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his (BC)cool roof chamber. (BD)And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch[c] and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him (BE)and locked them.
24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, (BF)“Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond (BG)the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, (BH)he sounded the trumpet in (BI)the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, (BJ)for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized (BK)the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. (BL)And the land had rest for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After him was (BM)Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines (BN)with an oxgoad, and he also (BO)saved Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 2:5 Bochim means weepers
- Judges 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
Judges 2-3
New International Version
Judges 2-3
New International Version
The Angel of the Lord at Bokim
2 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) 2 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? 3 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.’”
4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(M) 5 and they called that place Bokim.[a](N) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.
Disobedience and Defeat(O)
6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 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)
8 Joshua son of Nun,(Q) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 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)
3 These are the nations the Lord left to test(BD) all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3 the five(BE) rulers of the Philistines,(BF) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites(BG) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon(BH) to Lebo Hamath.(BI) 4 They were left to test(BJ) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived(BK) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,(BL) Hivites and Jebusites.(BM) 6 They took their daughters(BN) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.(BO)
Othniel
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord(BP) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.(BQ) 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold(BR) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim(BS) king of Aram Naharaim,[d](BT) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out(BU) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,(BV) Othniel(BW) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him,(BX) so that he became Israel’s judge[e] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim(BY) king of Aram(BZ) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace(CA) for forty years,(CB) until Othniel son of Kenaz(CC) died.
Ehud
12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(CD) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab(CE) power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites(CF) and Amalekites(CG) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[f](CH) 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab(CI) for eighteen years.
15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer(CJ)—Ehud(CK), a left-handed(CL) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute(CM) to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud(CN) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[g] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute(CO) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.(CP) 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”
The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[h](CQ) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(CR) from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword(CS) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch[i]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself(CT) in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment,(CU) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.
26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet(CV) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.
28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,(CW) your enemy, into your hands.(CX)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan(CY) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30 That day Moab(CZ) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace(DA) for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,(DB) who struck down six hundred(DC) Philistines(DD) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
- Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
- Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19
- Judges 3:8 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Judges 3:10 Or leader
- Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
- Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
- Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
- Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.