Shìshījì 2

1 Yēhéhuá de shǐzhĕ cóng Jíjiǎ shàng dào bō jīn , duì Yǐsèliè rén shuō , wǒ shǐ nǐmen cóng Āijí shàng lái , lǐng nǐmen dào wǒ xiàng nǐmen lièzǔ qǐshì yīngxǔ zhī dì . wǒ yòu shuō , wǒ yǒng bù feìqì yǔ nǐmen suǒ lì de yuē .

2 Nǐmen yĕ bùkĕ yǔ zhè dì de jūmín lì yuē , yào chāihuǐ tāmende jìtán . nǐmen jìng méiyǒu tīng cóng wǒde huà . wèihé zhèyàng xíng ne .

3 Yīncǐ wǒ yòu shuō , wǒ bì bú jiāng tāmen cóng nǐmen miànqián gǎn chū . tāmen bì zuò nǐmen lē xià de jīngjí . tāmende shén bì zuò nǐmen de wǎngluó .

4 Yēhéhuá de shǐzhĕ xiàng Yǐsèliè zhòngrén shuō zhè huà de shíhou , bǎixìng jiù fàng shēng ér kū .

5 Yúshì gĕi nà dìfang qǐmíng jiào bō jīn ( jiù shì kū de yìsi ) . zhòngrén zaì nàli xiàng Yēhéhuá xiànjì .

6 Cóng qián Yuēshūyà dǎfa Yǐsèliè bǎixìng qù de shíhou , tāmen gè guī zìjǐ de dì yè , zhān jū dì tǔ .

7 Yuēshūyà zaì shì hé Yuēshūyà sǐ hòu , nàxiē jiàn Yēhéhuá wèi Yǐsèliè rén suǒ xíng dà shì de zhǎnglǎo hái zaì de shíhou , bǎixìng dōu shìfèng Yēhéhuá .

8 Yēhéhuá de púrén , nèn de érzi Yuēshūyà , zhēng yī bǎi yī shí suì jiù sǐ le .

9 Yǐsèliè rén jiāng tā zàng zaì tā dì yè de jìng neì , jiù shì zaì Yǐfǎlián shān dì de Tíngná xī liè , zaì jiā shí shān de bĕibiān .

10 Nà shìdaì de rén yĕ dōu guī le zìjǐ de lièzǔ . hòulái yǒu biéde shìdaì xīngqǐ , bù zhīdào Yēhéhuá , yĕ bù zhīdào Yēhéhuá wèi Yǐsèliè rén suǒ xíng de shì .

11 Yǐsèliè rén xíng Yēhéhuá yǎn zhōng kàn wéi è de shì , qù shìfèng zhū bā lì ,

12 Lí qì le lǐng tāmen chū Āijí dì de Yēhéhuá tāmen lièzǔ de shén , qù kòu baì bié shén , jiù shì sìwéi liè guó de shén , rĕ Yēhéhuá fānù .

13 Bìng lí qì Yēhéhuá , qù shìfèng bāLìhé Yàsītālù .

14 Yēhéhuá de nùqì xiàng Yǐsèliè rén fā zuò , jiù bǎ tāmen jiāo zaì qiǎngduó tāmende rén shǒu zhōng , yòu jiāng tāmen fù yǔ sìwéi chóudí de shǒu zhōng , shènzhì tāmen zaì chóudí miànqián zaì bùnéng zhàn lì dé zhù .

15 Tāmen wúlùn wǎng héchu qù , Yēhéhuá dōu yǐ zāihuò gōngjī tāmen , zhēng rú Yēhéhuá suǒ shuō de huà , yòu rú Yēhéhuá xiàng tāmen suǒ qǐ de shì . tāmen biàn jíqí kùnkǔ .

16 Yēhéhuá xīngqǐ shì shī , shì shī jiù zhĕngjiù tāmen tuōlí qiǎngduó tāmen rén de shǒu .

17 Tāmen què bù tīng cóng shì shī , jìng suícóng kòu baì bié shén , xíng le xié yín , sù sù de piānlí tāmen lièzǔ suǒ xíng de dào , bù rú tāmen lièzǔ shùncóng Yēhéhuá de mìnglìng .

18 Yēhéhuá wèi tāmen xīngqǐ shì shī , jiù yǔ nà shì shī tóng zaì . shì shī zaì shì de yīqiè rìzi , Yēhéhuá zhĕngjiù tāmen tuōlí chóudí de shǒu . tāmen yīn shòu qīyē rǎo haì , jiù āi shēng tàn qì , suǒyǐ Yēhéhuá hòuhuǐ le .

19 Jízhì shì shī sǐ hòu , tāmen jiù zhuǎn qù xíng è , bǐ tāmen lièzǔ gèng shén , qù shìfèng kòu baì bié shén , zǒng bú duàn jué wán gĕng de è xíng .

20 Yúshì Yēhéhuá de nùqì xiàng Yǐsèliè rén fā zuò . tā shuō , yīn zhè mín wéibeì wǒ fēnfu tāmen lièzǔ suǒ shǒu de yuē , bù tīng cóng wǒde huà ,

21 Suǒyǐ Yuēshūyà sǐ de shíhou suǒ shèngxia de gè zú , wǒ bì bú zaì cóng tāmen miànqián gǎn chū ,

22 Wéi yào jiè cǐ shìyàn Yǐsèliè rén , kàn tāmen kĕn zhào tāmen lièzǔ jǐn shǒu zūnxíng wǒde dào bù kĕn .

23 Zhèyàng Yēhéhuá liú xià gè zú , bú jiāng tāmen sù sù gǎn chū , yĕ méiyǒu jiāofù Yuēshūyà de shǒu .

Shìshījì 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

The angel of the Lord rebukes the people. (1-5) The wickedness of the new generation after Joshua. (6-23)

Verses 1-5 It was the great Angel of the covenant, the Word, the Son of God, who spake with Divine authority as Jehovah, and now called them to account for their disobedience. God sets forth what he had done for Israel, and what he had promised. Those who throw off communion with God, and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, know not what they do now, and will have nothing to say for themselves in the day of account shortly. They must expect to suffer for this their folly. Those deceive themselves who expect advantages from friendship with God's enemies. God often makes men's sin their punishment; and thorns and snares are in the way of the froward, who will walk contrary to God. The people wept, crying out against their own folly and ingratitude. They trembled at the word, and not without cause. It is a wonder sinners can ever read the Bible with dry eyes. Had they kept close to God and their duty, no voice but that of singing had been heard in their congregation; but by their sin and folly they made other work for themselves, and nothing is to be heard but the voice of weeping. The worship of God, in its own nature, is joy, praise, and thanksgiving; our sins alone render weeping needful. It is pleasing to see men weep for their sins; but our tears, prayers, and even amendment, cannot atone for sin.

Verses 6-23 We have a general idea of the course of things in Israel, during the time of the Judges. The nation made themselves as mean and miserable by forsaking God, as they would have been great and happy if they had continued faithful to him. Their punishment answered to the evil they had done. They served the gods of the nations round about them, even the meanest, and God made them serve the princes of the nations round about them, even the meanest. Those who have found God true to his promises, may be sure that he will be as true to his threatenings. He might in justice have abandoned them, but he could not for pity do it. The Lord was with the judges when he raised them up, and so they became saviours. In the days of the greatest distress of the church, there shall be some whom God will find or make fit to help it. The Israelites were not thoroughly reformed; so mad were they upon their idols, and so obstinately bent to backslide. Thus those who have forsaken the good ways of God, which they have once known and professed, commonly grow most daring and desperate in sin, and have their hearts hardened. Their punishment was, that the Canaanites were spared, and so they were beaten with their own rod. Men cherish and indulge their corrupt appetites and passions; therefore God justly leaves them to themselves, under the power of their sins, which will be their ruin. God has told us how deceitful and desperately wicked our hearts are, but we are not willing to believe it, until by making bold with temptation we find it true by sad experience. We need to examine how matters stand with ourselves, and to pray without ceasing, that we may be rooted and grounded in love, and that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith. Let us declare war against every sin, and follow after holiness all our days.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 2

This chapter gives an account of an angel of the Lord appearing and rebuking the children of Israel for their present misconduct, Jud 2:1-5; of their good behaviour under Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Jud 2:6-10; and of their idolatries they fell into afterwards, which greatly provoked the Lord to anger, Jud 2:11-15; and of the goodness of God to them nevertheless, in raising up judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, of which there are many instances in the following chapter, Jud 2:16-18; and yet that how, upon the demise of such persons, they relapsed into idolatry which caused the anger of God to be hot against them, and to determine not to drive out the Canaanites utterly from them, but to leave them among them to try them, Jud 2:19-23.