2tn Heb “the land that I had sworn to your fathers.”

3tn Or “covenant” (also in the following verse).

4tn Heb “their altars.”

5tn Heb “you have not listened to my voice.”

6tn Heb “What is this you have done?”

7tn Heb “And I also said.” The use of the perfect tense here suggests that the messenger is recalling an earlier statement (see Josh 23:12-13). However, some translate, “And I also say,” understanding the following words as an announcement of judgment upon those gathered at Bokim.

8tn The words “If you disobey” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See Josh 23:12-13.

9tn Heb “them”; the referent (the Canaanites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

10tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צִדִּים (tsiddim) is uncertain in this context. It may be related to an Akkadian cognate meaning “snare.” If so, a more literal translation would be “they will become snares to you.” Normally the term in question means “sides,” but this makes no sense here. On the basis of Num 33:55 some suggest the word for “thorns” has been accidentally omitted. If this word is added, the text would read, “they will become [thorns] in your sides” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

11tn Heb “their gods will become a snare to you.”

12tn Heb “lifted their voices and wept.”

13sn Bokim means “weeping ones” and is derived from the Hebrew verb בָּכָא (bakha’, “to weep”).

14tn Or “sent away.”

15tn Heb “the Israelites went each to his inheritance.”

16tn Or “served”; or “followed.”

17tn Or perhaps “elders,” which could be interpreted to mean “leaders.”

18tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the old men who outlived him, who had seen.”

19tn Heb “the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel.”

20tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

21tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”

22tn Heb “All that generation were gathered to their fathers.”

23tn Heb “arose after them.”

24tn Heb “that did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.” The expressions “personally experienced” and “seen” are interpretive.

25tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

26tn Or “serving”; or “following.”

27tn Or “fathers.”

28tn Or “bowed before” (the same expression occurs in the following verse).

29tn Some English translations simply transliterate the plural Hebrew term (“Ashtaroth,” cf. NAB, NASB), pluralize the transliterated Hebrew singular form (“Ashtoreths,” cf. NIV), or use a variation of the name (“Astartes,” cf. NRSV).

sn The Ashtars were local manifestations of the goddess Astarte.

30tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

31tn Heb “robbers who robbed them.” (The verb שָׁסָה [shasah] appears twice in the verse.)

sn The expression robbers who plundered them is a derogatory reference to the enemy nations, as the next line indicates.

32tn Heb “sold them into the hands of.”

33tn The word “attacks” is supplied in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

34tn The expression “to fight” is interpretive.

35tn Heb “the Lord’s hand was against them for harm.”

36tn Heb “just as he had said and just as he had sworn to them.”

37tn Or “they experienced great distress.”

38tn Or more traditionally, “judges” (also in vv. 17, 18 [3x], 19). Since these figures carried out more than a judicial function, also serving as rulers and (in several instances) as military commanders, the translation uses the term “leaders.”

39tn Heb “and they delivered them from the hand of the ones robbing them.”

40tn Or “did not listen to.”

41tn Or “bowed before.”

42tn Or “way [of life].”

43tn Or “fathers.”

44tn Heb “…walked, obeying the Lord’s commands. They did not do this.”

45tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

46tn The phrase “for them” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

47tn Heb “the ones oppressing them and afflicting them.” The synonyms “oppressing” and “afflicting” are joined together in the translation as “harsh oppressors” to emphasize the cruel character of their enemies.

48tn Heb “they”; the referent (the next generation) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

49tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to turn”) is sometimes translated “turn back” here, but it is probably used in an adverbial sense, indicating that the main action (“act wickedly”) is being repeated.

50tn Heb “their fathers.”

sn The statement the next generation would again act more wickedly than the previous one must refer to the successive sinful generations after Joshua, not Joshua’s godly generation (cf. vv. 7, 17).

51tn Or “serving [them]”; or “following [them].”

52tn Or “drop.”

53tn Or “The Lord’s anger burned [or “raged”] against Israel.”

54tn Heb “Because this nation.”

55tn Heb “my covenant which I commanded their fathers.”

56tn Heb “and has not listened to my voice.” The expression “to not listen to [God’s] voice” is idiomatic here for disobeying him.

57tn The words “Joshua left those nations” are interpretive. The Hebrew text of v. 22 simply begins with “to test.” Some subordinate this phrase to “I will no longer remove” (v. 21). In this case the Lord announces that he has now decided to leave these nations as a test for Israel. Another possibility is to subordinate “to test” to “He said” (v. 20; see B. Lindars, Judges 1-5, 111). In this case the statement recorded in vv. 20b-21 is the test in that it forces Israel to respond either positively (through repentance) or negatively to the Lord’s declaration. A third possibility (the one reflected in the present translation) is to subordinate “to test” to “left unconquered” (v. 21). In this case the Lord recalls that Joshua left these nations as a test. Israel has failed the test (v. 20), so the Lord announces that the punishment threatened earlier (Josh 23:12-13; see also Judg 2:3) will now be implemented. As B. G. Webb (Judges [JSOTSup], 115) observes, “The nations which were originally left as a test are now left as a punishment.” This view best harmonizes v. 23, which explains that the Lord did not give all the nations to Joshua, with v. 22. (For a grammatical parallel, where the infinitive construct of נָסָה [nasah] is subordinated to the perfect of עָזַב [’azav], see 2 Chr 32:31.)

58tn The Hebrew text includes the phrase “by them,” but this is somewhat redundant in English and has been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

59tn The words “I [i.e., the Lord] wanted to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

60tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

61tn Or “way [of life].”

62tn “The words “marked out by” are interpretive.

63tn Or “fathers.”

64tn The words “this is why” are interpretive.

65tn Or “quickly.”