Judges 3:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan.

NIV: These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan

NASB: Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them ( that is, all the Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan;

CSB: These are the nations the Lord left in order to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan.

NLT: These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan.

KJV: Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

NKJV: Now these are the nations which the Lord left, that He might test Israel by them, that is, all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan

Chapter 3 begins with a reference to a statement made by the Lord at the end of chapter 2, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not" (Judges 2:20–22).

This means God intentionally allowed specific nations to continue to exist in and around Israel—despite having earlier commanded Israel to utterly destroy them (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). This was in response to Israel's failure to complete that task, through indifference and disobedience. Over time, the presence of these depraved nations would "test" Israel's faithfulness. In truth, God already knew exactly what would happen; this "test" is really more of a "demonstration," for the people's own sake.

This verse narrows those God intends to test by using these other nations against His people. He will test all in Israel who had not experienced the wars in Canaan. In other words, these tests are intended for the generations of Israelites who followed the time of Joshua. Joshua's generation experienced war in the great initial conquest of Canaan after the Israelites entered the Promised Land.

The following generations were meant to experience war in driving the remaining Canaanites from the land in each territory, but they had failed to do so. God would now use war to test these new generations, to see if they would return to Him in times of great need, as the previous generations had done when going to war against the Canaanites the first time.

Judges 3:1–6 names the nations the Lord leaves in existence in and around the Promised Land. These nations will plague future generations of Israelites to see if they will be faithful. Some of these represent unconquered territories whose inhabitants will raid and oppress Israel: the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites. Groups living amongst the captured regions will tempt Israel in different ways. These are listed as Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite peoples. Starting with the very first generation after Joshua, the people betray God, intermarrying with these depraved nations and serving their gods.

God leaves several Canaanite nations in and around the Promised Land to test Israel's reliance on Him. Some live among the people, others are part of unconquered territories. The Israelites immediately ignore God's commands and begin serving other gods. First, the Lord subjects them to Mesopotamia. After eight years, the first judge, Othniel, leads them to victory and peace. Israel again rebels and is conquered by Moab for 18 years. Ehud's brutal assassination of the Moabite king sparks another period of freedom and peace. In a single brief statement, the obscure Shamgar is celebrated for his victory.

After Israel's failure to complete their mission, as described in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 begins by describing the idolatrous nations God left intact to test Israel. In the first of many such cycles, the people sin, are conquered, then are rescued by a "judge." This chapter describes the victories of Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Chapter 4 mentions the first of the truly famous names among the judges, describing the careers of Deborah and Barak. This is followed in chapter 6, which introduces Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).