¹⁶ Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hands of their oppressors, ¹⁷ and yet for all that they would not hearken unto their judges: But went a whoring after strange gods and bowed themselves unto them, and turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD, and did not so. ¹⁸ And when the LORD raised up judges unto them, the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hands of their enemies all the days of the judge: for the LORD had compassion over their sorrowings which they had by the reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. ¹⁹ Yet for all that, as soon as the judge was dead they turned and did worse than their fathers in following strange gods, and in serving them, and ceased not from their inventions nor from their malicious ways.

²⁰ Wherefore the LORD was angry with Israel and said, "Because this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, ²¹ therefore henceforth I will not cast out one man before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died - ²² and that to prove Israel through them whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein as their fathers did or not." ²³ And so the LORD left those nations alone, and drove them not out immediately, neither delivered them into the hands of Joshua.

¹ These are the nations which the LORD left to tempt Israel, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan. ² Only, for the learning of the generation of the children of Israel, which before knew nothing of war, ³ he left the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Cananites, the Sidonians, the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon: even from mount Baalhermon unto Hamath. ⁴ Those remained to prove Israel by, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. ⁵ And as the children of Israel dwelt among the Cananites, Hittites, Amorites, Perezites, Hivites, and Jebusites, ⁶ they took the daughters of them to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.