Israel Rebuked at Bochim 1 UST An angel representing Yahweh went from Gilgal to a place that the people of Israel would soon call Bochim. He said to the Israelite people,“Your ancestors were slaves in Egypt, but I set them free, and they escaped. I promised your ancestors that I would give this land to you, and I have now brought you to it. I told them I would never break the promises I made to them. BSB BSB: Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,
2 UST But I also told them that you, their descendants, must never make any peace treaties with the people who lived in this land. You were supposed to tear down all the altars{ where those people made sacrifices to idols}. But you have not obeyed me. You have done a wicked thing{ by making peace treaties with them and not destroying their altars}. BSB BSB: and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
3 UST So now, as I warned you{ through Joshua}, I will no longer help you force the people who live here to leave. They will bother you continually, as if they were thorns in your sides. And when you worship their idols, it will be as if a hunter catches you in a trap{ and kills you}.” BSB BSB: So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”
4 UST After the angel representing Yahweh had said these things to all the Israelites, they cried loudly. BSB BSB: When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5 UST So they named that place Bochim, which means“weeping.” They offered sacrifices there to Yahweh. BSB BSB: So they called that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the LORD.
Joshua’s Death and Burial (Joshua 24:29–33)
6 UST After Joshua had sent the people of Israel away{ from the assembly at Shechem}, each group had gone to occupy the land that Joshua had assigned to them. BSB BSB: After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites went out to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.
7 UST The Israelites had obeyed Yahweh for as long as Joshua was alive. After he died, there were still some older leaders alive who had seen all the miracles that Yahweh had done for Israel. For as long as those leaders were alive, the people had continued to obey Yahweh. BSB BSB: And the people served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, who had seen all the great works that the LORD had done for Israel.
8 UST Yahweh’ s servant Joshua was 110 years old when he died. Joshua’ s father’ s name was Nun. BSB BSB: And Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110.
9 UST The Israelites buried the body of Joshua within the territory that he had received from Moses. That was at Timnath Heres, north of Mount Gaash. That is in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim settled. BSB BSB: They buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness (Isaiah 43:22–28; Jeremiah 2:23–37)
10 UST Finally, all the people who had lived at the same time as Joshua died. After that, more people grew up who did not know Yahweh. They had also not seen the miracles he had done for the people of Israel. BSB BSB: After that whole generation had also been gathered to their fathers, another generation rose up who did not know the LORD or the works that He had done for Israel.
11 UST The Israelites then did things that Yahweh had said were very evil. They worshiped different idols that represented gods such as Baal. They stopped worshiping Yahweh, the God their ancestors had worshiped. He was the one who had brought their ancestors out of Egypt. Instead, they began to worship the various gods that the people groups around them worshiped. They bowed down to those gods in order to honor them. This caused Yahweh to be very angry. When the Israelites stopped worshiping Yahweh and started worshiping Baal, they also started worshiping female fertility goddesses such as Ashtoreth. BSB BSB: And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.
14 UST This made Yahweh very angry with the Israelites. So he allowed people from other groups to attack the Israelites and steal their crops and animals. Yahweh allowed the hostile nations around them to conquer them. The Israelites were no longer able to defeat their enemies in battle. BSB BSB: Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of those who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.
15 UST Whenever the Israelites went to fight their enemies, Yahweh always worked against them and allowed their enemies to defeat them. That was just what he had warned them he would do. So the Israelites were greatly distressed. BSB BSB: Wherever Israel marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring calamity, just as He had sworn to them. So they were greatly distressed.
Judges Raised Up 16 UST But then Yahweh brought leaders to them. These leaders rescued the Israelites from the powerful enemies who had been attacking them. BSB BSB: Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
17 UST But the Israelites did not obey those leaders. Instead, they were unfaithful to Yahweh and worshiped false gods. They bowed down to idols that represented those gods. They were not like their ancestors. Their ancestors had obeyed what Yahweh commanded. But these younger people quickly stopped behaving as their ancestors had behaved. BSB BSB: Israel, however, did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to the LORD’s commandments; they did not do as their fathers had done.
18 UST The Israelites were groaning because their enemies were treating them badly and making them suffer. Yahweh heard them groaning and felt sorry for them. So he brought leaders to them, and he helped each leader rescue the people from their enemies. He did that for as long as the leader was alive. BSB BSB: Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.
19 UST But after that leader died, the people stopped living as God wanted. Instead, they did even more evil things than the Israelites who had lived before them. They worshiped other gods and bowed down to them and did what they thought those gods wanted them to do. They stubbornly continued to do very wicked things. BSB BSB: But when the judge died, the Israelites became even more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 UST This made Yahweh very angry with the Israelite people. He said,“These people have disobeyed the agreement that I made with their ancestors. They have not done what I told them to do. BSB BSB: So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not heeded My voice,
21 UST When Joshua died, there were still some other people groups living in this land. Because the Israelites are disobeying me, I will no longer help them force any of those people groups to leave. BSB BSB: I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
22 UST Instead, I will use those people groups to create difficult situations for the Israelites. That will show whether or not they will consistently do what I want them to do, as their ancestors did.” BSB BSB: In this way I will test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD by walking in it as their fathers did.”
23 UST That is why Yahweh did not allow Joshua and his army to force those people groups to leave. Instead, he allowed those people groups to stay in the land for a long time after the people of Israel arrived. BSB BSB: That is why the LORD had left those nations in place and had not driven them out immediately by delivering them into the hand of Joshua.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.