Judges 2:21 (DRB)

Passage

I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left when he died:

Nearby Context

Judges 2:19 But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much worse things than their fathers had done, following strange gods, serving them, and adoring them. They left not their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they were accustomed to walk.

Judges 2:20 And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant, which I had made with their fathers, and hath despised to hearken to my voice:

Judges 2:21 I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left when he died:

Judges 2:22 That through them I may try Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord, and walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not.

Judges 2:23 The Lord therefore left all these nations, and would not quickly destroy them, neither did he deliver them into the hands of Josue.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "destroy", "nations", "josue", "left", and "died". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "destroy" and "nations", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And the wrath of the Lord was..." into verse 22's "That through them I may try Israel...", so "destroy" and "nations" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "destroy" and "nations" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.