Juízes 2

¹ And anThat is, messenger, or prophet, as some think, Phinehas.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.

² Ye also shall make no couenant with the inhabitants of this land, but shall breake downe their altars: but ye haue not obeyed my voyce. Why haue ye done this?

³ Wherefore, I sayd also, I wil not cast them out before you, but they shalbe as thornes vnto your sides, & their gods shalbe your destruction.

⁴ And when the Angel of the Lorde spake these wordes vnto all the children of Israel, the people lift vp their voyce, and wept.

⁵ Therefore they called the name of that place, Bochim, and offered sacrifices there vnto the Lord.

⁶ And when Joshua hadAfter that he had divided to every man his portion by lot, (Jos_24:28).let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

⁷ 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 greatMeaning, the wonders and miracles.works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

⁸ But Ioshua the sonne of Nun the seruant of the Lord dyed, when he was an hundreth and ten yeeres olde:

⁹ And they buried him in the border of his inheritance inHeres, by turning the letters backward is Sereh, as in (Jos_24:30).Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

¹⁰ And so all that generation was gathered vnto their fathers, & another generation arose after them, which neither knewe the Lord, nor yet the works, which he had done for Israel.

¹¹ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and servedThat is, all manner of idols.Baalim:

¹² And forsooke ye Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the lande of Egypt, & followed other gods, euen the gods of the people that were round about them, & bowed vnto them, and prouoked the Lord to anger.

¹³ And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal andThese were idols, which had the form of a ewe or sheep among the Sidonians.Ashtaroth.

¹⁴ And the wrath of the Lorde was hote against Israel, & he deliuered them into the hands of spoylers, that spoyled them, and he sold them into the handes of their enemies rounde about them, so that they could no longer stande before their enemies.

¹⁵ In all their enterprises.Whithersoever they went out, theThe vengeance.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.

¹⁶ Notwithstanding, the Lorde raysed vp Iudges, which deliuered them out of the hands of their oppressours.

¹⁷ 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 theMeaning, from the true religion.way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; [but] they did not so.

¹⁸ 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 groaningsSeeing their cruelty.by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

¹⁹ Yet when the Iudge was dead, they returned, and did worse then their fathers, in following other gods to serue them and worshippe them: they ceased not from their owne inuentions, nor from their rebellious way.

²⁰ Wherfore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sayd, Because this people hath transgressed my couenant, which I commaded their fathers, & hath not obeyed my voyce,

²¹ I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of theAs the Hivites, Jebusites, Amorites, etc.nations which Joshua left when he died:

²² That through them I maySo that both outward enemies and false prophets are but a trial to prove our faith, (Deu_13:3; Jdg_3:1).prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep [it], or not.

²³ So the Lorde left those nations, and droue them not out immediately, neither deliuered them into the hand of Ioshua.