16 Then the Lord chose leaders called judges. These leaders saved the Israelites from the enemies who took their possessions.
17 But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. The Israelites were not faithful to God—they followed other gods. In the past, the ancestors of the Israelites obeyed the Lord’S commands. But now the Israelites changed and stopped obeying the Lord.
18 Many times the enemies of Israel did bad things to the people, so the Israelites would cry for help. And each time the Lord felt sorry for the people and sent a judge to save them from their enemies. The Lord was always with those judges. Each time the Israelites were saved from their enemies.
19 But when each judge died, the Israelites again sinned and started worshiping the false gods. They acted worse than their ancestors did. The Israelites were very stubborn and refused to change their evil ways.
20 So the Lord became angry with the Israelites, and he said, “This nation has broken the agreement that I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me.
21 So I will no longer defeat the nations and clear the way for the Israelites. Those nations were still in this land when Joshua died, and I will let them stay in this land.
22 I will use them to test the Israelites. I will see if the Israelites can keep the Lord’S commands as their ancestors did.”