Judges2
English Standard Version
1Now the of the Lord from to . And he , I from and the I to give to your . I , I will my with you,
2and you shall with the of ; you shall break their . But you have my . is you have ?
3 now I , I will you, but they shall become thorns in your , and their shall be a to you.
4As soon as the of the Lord to the of , the their and .
5And they the of that . And they there to the Lord.
6When the , the of to his to of the .
7And the the Lord the of , and the of the who , had the the Lord had for .
8And the of , the of the Lord, at the of .
9And they him within the of his in , in the of , of the of .
10And that were to their . And there them did the Lord or the he had for .
11And the of what was in the of the Lord and the .
12And they the Lord, the of their , who had of the of . They , from the of the were them, and to them. And they the Lord to .
13They the Lord and the and the .
14So the of the Lord was against , and he them over , who them. And he them into the of their , so that they their .
15 they , the of the Lord was against them for , the Lord had , and the Lord had to them. And they were in .
16Then the Lord , who them out of the of those who them.
17 they did to their , they and to them. They the in their had , who had the of the Lord, and they do .
18Whenever the Lord for them, the Lord was with the , and he them from the of their the of the . the Lord was moved to by their of those who and them.
19But whenever the , they and were than their , , them and to them. They did any of their or their .
20So the of the Lord was against , and he , have my I their and have my ,
21 will them of the that when he ,
22in to by them, whether they will to in the of the Lord as their , .
23So the Lord , , and he did into the of .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Judges 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The angel of the Lord rebukes the people. (1–5). The wickedness of the new generation after Joshua. (6–23).
vv1-5
It was the great Angel of the covenant, the Word, the Son of God, who spake with Divine authority as Jehovah, and now called them to account for their disobedience. God sets forth what he had done for Israel, and what he had promised. Those who throw off communion with God, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, know not what they do now, and will have nothing to say for themselves in the day of account shortly. They must expect to suffer for this their folly. Those deceive themselves who expect advantages from friendship with God's enemies. God often makes men's sin their punishment; and thorns and snares are in the way of the froward, who will walk contrary to God. The people wept, crying out against their own folly and ingratitude. They trembled at the word, and not without cause. It is a wonder sinners can ever read the Bible with dry eyes. Had they kept close to God and their duty, no voice but that of singing had been heard in their congregation; but by their sin and folly they made other work for themselves, and nothing is to be heard but the voice of weeping. The worship of God, in its own nature, is joy, praise, and thanksgiving; our sins alone render weeping needful. It is pleasing to see men weep for their sins; but our tears, prayers, and even amendment, cannot atone for sin.
vv6-23
We have a general idea of the course of things in Israel, during the time of the Judges. The nation made themselves as mean and miserable by forsaking God, as they would have been great and happy if they had continued faithful to him. Their punishment answered to the evil they had done. They served the gods of the nations round about them, even the meanest, and God made them serve the princes of the nations round about them, even the meanest. Those who have found God true to his promises, may be sure that he will be as true to his threatenings. He might in justice have abandoned them, but he could not for pity do it. The Lord was with the judges when he raised them up, and so they became saviours. In the days of the greatest distress of the church, there shall be some whom God will find or make fit to help it. The Israelites were not thoroughly reformed; so mad were they upon their idols, and so obstinately bent to backslide. Thus those who have forsaken the good ways of God, which they have once known and professed, commonly grow most daring and desperate in sin, and have their hearts hardened. Their punishment was, that the Canaanites were spared, and so they were beaten with their own rod. Men cherish and indulge their corrupt appetites and passions; therefore God justly leaves them to themselves, under the power of their sins, which will be their ruin. God has told us how deceitful and desperately wicked our hearts are, but we are not willing to believe it, until by making bold with temptation we find it true by sad experience. We need to examine how matters stand with ourselves, and to pray without ceasing, that we may be rooted and grounded in love, and that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Let us declare war against every sin, and follow after holiness all our days.
Key Words
מֲלְאָךְ: a messenger; specifically, of God, i.e. an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher)
עָלָה: to ascend, intransitively (be high) or actively (mount); used in a great variety of senses, primary and secondary, literal and figurative
גִּלְגָּל: Gilgal, the name of three places in Palestine
בֹּכִים: Bo-kim, a place in Palestine
אָמַר: to say (used with great latitude)
מִצְרַיִם: Mitsrajim, i.e. Upper and Lower Egypt
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
שָׁבַע: to seven oneself, i.e. swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times)
Cross References
Judges 2Direct textual link showing Israel's faithfulness during the lifetime of Joshua and the elders.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Identifies the Angel of the Lord with the Angel of the Covenant sent before Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Connects the Angel's appearance to Joshua as the Captain of the Lord's host.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallels the burial place of Joshua in Timnath-heres (called Timnath-serah in Joshua).
Supported by Matthew Poole
The explicit commandment prohibiting covenants and marriages with the Canaanites to prevent idolatry.
Supported by Matthew Poole
A poetic summary of Israel's failure to destroy the nations, learning their works instead.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The Mosaic warning that un-driven inhabitants would become pricks in eyes and thorns in sides.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Joshua's farewell warning that remnant nations would become snares, traps, and thorns.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Describes the cycle of Israel's rebellion, oppression, and God's pity raising up deliverers.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Explicitly restates that the remaining nations were left to prove Israel's obedience.
Supported by Matthew Henry