1Herrens engel drog op fra Gilgal og kom til israelitterne med følgende budskab: „Jeg førte jer fra Egypten til det land, jeg lovede jeres forfædre, og jeg forsikrede jer, at jeg aldrig ville bryde min pagt med jer.2I måtte til gengæld ikke slutte fred med landets indbyggere, men derimod sørge for at ødelægge deres afgudsaltre. Hvorfor har I nu været ulydige og ikke overholdt jeres del af pagten?3Fordi I har gjort det, vil jeg ikke længere drive de folk ud, som bor i jeres land. De vil være en torn i øjet på jer, og de vil lokke jer til at dyrke deres guder.”4Da englen havde talt, brast israelitterne i gråd,5og derfor kaldte man det sted for Bokim.[1] Derefter bragte de ofre til Herren.6Efter at Josva havde opløst den forenede hær, var stammerne rejst hver til sit område for at bosætte sig.7I hele Josvas levetid havde folket adlydt Herren, og det fortsatte de med, så længe den generation var i live, der havde oplevet alle de undere, Herren havde gjort for Israel.8Josva, Guds tjener, døde i en alder af 110 år9og blev begravet på sin arvelod i Timnat-Heres i Efraims højland nord for Ga’ashbjerget.10Efterhånden som hele den generation uddøde, blev den afløst af en ny generation, som hverken kendte Herren eller huskede de undere, han havde gjort for Israel,11og de gjorde, hvad der var ondt i Herrens øjne og dyrkede afguderne.12-13De vendte sig fra Herren, den Gud, som deres forfædre havde tilbedt, og som havde ført dem ud af Egypten, og dyrkede i stedet Ba’al og de andre afguder, som nabofolkene dyrkede.14Derfor blussede Herrens vrede op imod Israel, så han udleverede dem til deres fjender, der kom fra alle sider og hærgede og plyndrede deres land.15Når Israels folk gik til kamp imod deres fjender, hjalp Herren fjenderne med at besejre dem—nøjagtig sådan som han havde lovet. På den måde kom folket i stor nød.16Så greb Herren ind og gav dem ledere—de såkaldte dommere—der skulle redde dem fra deres fjender.17Men folket ville heller ikke adlyde deres befriere. De fortsatte med at være troløse imod Herren og med at tilbede andre guder. De fulgte således ikke deres forfædres levevis, for de adlød ikke længere Herrens bud.18Alligevel var det sådan, at når Herren gav folket en befrier, så var han med den befrier, så længe han levede, og reddede folket fra deres fjender, for Herren havde medynk med sit forpinte folk, som jamrede, når de blev undertrykt af fjenderne.19Men når befrieren så døde, genoptog folket deres onde levevis og gjorde værre ting end deres forfædre. De dyrkede igen fremmede guder, tilbad dem og bøjede sig for dem, og de nægtede at ændre deres onde adfærd og stædige holdning.20Så blussede Herrens vrede igen op imod Israel, og han erklærede: „Fordi mit folk har brudt den pagt, jeg oprettede med deres forfædre og ignoreret mine befalinger,21vil jeg ikke længere hjælpe dem med at fordrive de folkeslag, Josva ikke nåede at besejre, før han døde.22I stedet vil jeg bruge fjenderne til at sætte dem på prøve og se, om de vil vende sig til mig og adlyde mig, sådan som deres forfædre gjorde.”23Det var grunden til, at Herren lod de forskellige folkeslag blive boende og ikke udryddede dem med det samme ved at give Josva sejr over dem.
1Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to 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, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, (1.Mos 17,7; 2.Mos 6,4; 5.Mos 31,16; Dom 2,5)2and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? (5.Mos 7,2; 5.Mos 12,3)3So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” (4.Mos 33,55; Josva 23,13; Dom 2,21)4As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.5And they called the name of that place Bochim.[1] And they sacrificed there to the Lord.
The Death of Joshua
6When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land.7And 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. (Josva 24,29)8And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years.9And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. (Josva 19,50; Josva 24,33)10And 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
11And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. (Dom 3,7; Dom 4,1; Dom 6,1; Dom 10,6; Dom 13,1)12And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. (2.Mos 20,5; 5.Mos 6,14; 5.Mos 31,16; 5.Mos 31,29; Dom 2,17; Dom 2,19)13They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. (Dom 3,7; Dom 10,6; 1.Sam 7,4; Salm 106,36)14So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. (3.Mos 26,37; 5.Mos 32,30; Josva 7,12; Dom 2,20; Dom 3,8; Dom 4,2; 1.Sam 12,9; 2.Kong 17,20)15Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress. (3.Mos 26,14; 5.Mos 28,15)
The Lord Raises Up Judges
16Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. (Dom 3,9; Dom 3,15; Dom 3,31; Dom 10,1; Dom 10,12; Dom 12,2; Dom 13,5; 1.Sam 12,11; Neh 9,27; Ap G 13,20)17Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. 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. (2.Mos 34,15; 5.Mos 9,12; Dom 8,33)18Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. (1.Mos 6,6; 2.Mos 2,24; 2.Mos 6,5; 4.Mos 23,19; 5.Mos 32,36; Josva 1,5; Salm 106,45; Jer 18,8; Jer 26,3)19But 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. (Dom 3,12; Dom 4,1; Dom 6,1; Dom 8,33)20So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, (5.Mos 17,2; Josva 23,16; Dom 2,14)21I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, (Josva 23,13; Dom 2,3)22in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” (2.Mos 15,25; 5.Mos 8,2; 5.Mos 8,16; 5.Mos 13,3; Dom 3,1; Dom 3,4)23So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.