Judges 2:21 (GNV)

Passage

Therefore will I no more cast out before them any of the nations, which Ioshua left when he dyed,

Nearby Context

Judges 2:19 Yet when the Iudge was dead, they returned, and did worse then their fathers, in following other gods to serue them and worshippe them: they ceased not from their owne inuentions, nor from their rebellious way.

Judges 2:20 Wherfore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sayd, Because this people hath transgressed my couenant, which I commaded their fathers, and hath not obeyed my voyce,

Judges 2:21 Therefore will I no more cast out before them any of the nations, which Ioshua left when he dyed,

Judges 2:22 That through them I may proue Israel, whether they wil keepe the way of the Lord, to walke therein, as their fathers kept it, or not.

Judges 2:23 So the Lord left those nations, and droue them not out immediatly, neither deliuered them into the hand of Ioshua.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Wherfore the wrath of the Lord was..." into verse 22's "That through them I may proue Israel...", so "therefore" and "cast" 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 "therefore" and "cast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.