4 He left those nations in the land to test the Israelites. He wanted to see if the Israelites would obey the Lord’S commands that he had given to their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, the Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
6 The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people. They allowed their own daughters to marry the sons of those people. The Israelites also began to worship their gods.
7 The Lord saw that the Israelites did evil things. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the false gods Baal and Asherah.
8 The Lord was angry with the Israelites, so he allowed King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim to defeat the Israelites and to rule over them. The Israelites were under that king’s rule for eight years.
9 But the Israelites cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent a man named Othniel to save them. He was the son of Kenaz, who was Caleb’s younger brother. Othniel saved the Israelites.
10 The Spirit of the Lord filled Othniel, and he became a judge for the Israelites. He led the Israelites to war. The Lord helped Othniel defeat King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram.