Judges Raised Up

The LORD raises judges who save Israel from plunderers, and while a judge lives the LORD pities their groaning and gives relief. Yet the people do not listen and, after each judge dies, return to worse corruption than before.

T¹⁶hen the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. ¹⁷Israel, 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. ¹⁸Whenever 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. ¹⁹But 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.

Because Israel has broken the covenant, the LORD declares that He will no longer drive out the nations left after Joshua. Their continued presence will test whether Israel keeps the LORD's way, and this explains why the land remains unsettled.

²⁰So 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, ²¹I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. ²²In this way I will test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD by walking in it as their fathers did.” ²³That 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.