Judges 2:3 (LSB)

Passage

Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’”

Nearby Context

Judges 2:1 Then the angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,

Judges 2:2 and as for you, you shall cut no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice; what is this you have done?

Judges 2:3 Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides, and their gods will become a snare to you.’”

Judges 2:4 So it happened that when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

Judges 2:5 So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "said", "drive", "before", "become", "thorns", "sides", and "gods". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "and as for you you shall cut..." into verse 4's "So it happened that when the angel...", so "therefore" and "said" 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 "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.