Judges 2:3 · Bible study
Judges 2:3 Commentary: Study: The Snare of Disobedience
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does God stop driving out the Canaanites? A study of covenant discipline in Judges 2:3 with commentary and application.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God announces judgment on disobedient Israel by ceasing to drive out the Canaanites, who will become thorns and snares.
- Key words: 'drive out' (agarash, expel), 'sides' (tzaddim, thorns/adversaries), 'snare' (mokesh, a trap).
- Main debate: Whether 'sides' means literal thorns (supplied from Num 33:55) or adversaries (LXX/Vulgate).
- Theological theme: Covenant conditionality: God's promises are fulfilled only when his people walk in obedience.
- Best use: A warning against tolerating sin and a reminder that God's discipline is designed to bring repentance.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’”
KJV King James Version 1769
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And I also have said, I do not cast them out from your presence, and they have been to you for adversaries, and their gods are to you for a snare.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [scourges] in your sides, and theirgods shall be a snare unto you.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Wherefore I would not destroy them from before your face; that you may have enemies, and their gods may be your ruin.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Por tanto yo también dije: No los echaré de delante de vosotros, sino que os serán por azote para vuestros costados, y sus dioses por tropiezo.
Por isso eu também disse: ‘Não os expulsarei de diante de vós, mas serão vossos inimigos, e seus deuses vos serão uma armadilha’”.
J’ ai dit alors: Je ne les chasserai point devant vous; mais ils seront à vos côtés, et leurs dieux vous seront un piège.
Da sprach ich auch: Ich will sie nicht vertreiben vor euch, daß sie euch zum Strick werden und ihre Götter zum Netz.
Daarom heb Ik ook gezegd: Ik zal hen voor uw aangezicht niet uitdrijven; maar zij zullen u aan de zijden zijn, en hun goden zullen u tot een strik zijn.
Perciò anch’io ho detto: Io non li caccerò d’innanzi a voi; ma essi saranno per voi tanti nemici, e i loro dèi vi saranno un’insidia”.
Przetożem tak rzekł: Nie wypędzę ich od obliczności waszej; ale będą wam jako ciernie na boki, a bogowie ich będą wam jako sidło.
И потому говорю Я: [не стану уже переселять людей сих, которых Я хотел изгнать,] не изгоню их от вас, и будут они вам петлею, и боги их будут для вас сетью.
因此我又 說：『我必不 將他們 從你們面前 趕出；他們必作 你們 肋下的荊棘。他們的 神 必作 你們的 網羅。』」
And so I have said, I will not send them out from before you; but they will be a danger to you, and their gods will be a cause of falling to you.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Judges 2:3
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that God's declaration to stop driving out the Canaanites is a judicial response to Israel's breach of covenant. Adam Clarke states that 'transgressions and breach of the covenant were the reasons why they were not put in entire possession of the land.' Barnes notes that the angel's words announce a 'resolution' that fulfills earlier warnings in Numbers and Joshua. Gill elaborates that God would not assist them because of their sin, so the nations remained as 'thorns' bringing affliction, and their gods became a snare leading to idolatry. Keil and Delitzsch connect the phrase to the threat already expressed in Numbers 33:55 and Joshua 23:13. The people's weeping (v.4) confirms they understood this as a divine sentence. The consensus holds that the verse models covenant consequences: obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings discipline.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal 'thorns' reading: Based on supplying 'thorns' from Numbers 33:55 and Joshua 23:13.
- Adversarial reading: Based on LXX and Vulgate reading 'adversaries' instead of 'sides'.
What is clear: God's declaration is a direct response to Israel's disobedience and results in the Canaanites remaining as a source of affliction and temptation.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| God's declaration 'I will not drive them out' | This is a divine judgment on Israel's disobedience. | Some traditions emphasize that it is a direct revocation of a conditional promise; others stress that it is the natural consequence of covenant breaking. |
| Meaning of 'they shall be in your sides' | It signifies ongoing affliction and opposition from the Canaanites. | The Hebrew text reads 'sides' (tzaddim); many translations supply 'thorns' from Num 33:55, while the LXX and Vulgate read 'adversaries'. This affects the metaphor but not the basic meaning. |
| The relationship to Israel's future history | This verse sets the template for the cycle of the judges. | Some see it as a permanent curse that explains the entire period; others see it as a specific judicial sentence that later repentance could mitigate. |
| God's role in causing the nations to remain | God is sovereign over the nations and uses them to discipline Israel. | Catholic and Orthodox traditions emphasize human free will cooperating or resisting grace; Reformed traditions stress God's sovereign decree and the outworking of his justice. |
Historical & Cultural Context
The narrative places the angel at Bochim, a location near Bethel, after moving from Gilgal, the first campsite in Canaan. God's original land-grant in Exodus 23:23-33 and Numbers 33:50-56 included a clear condition: Israel must drive out all inhabitants and destroy their religious objects. Failure would result in the nations becoming 'pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides' (Num 33:55). The book of Judges opens by describing Israel's incomplete conquest (Judges 1), which leads directly to this confrontation. The angel's message functions as a covenant lawsuit: God rehearses his faithful acts ('I brought you out of Egypt'), cites the violated command ('make no covenant'), then pronounces sentence.
The language of 'sides' (Hebrew tziddim) is deliberately harsh; the parallel in Joshua 23:13 uses 'thorns in your eyes.' Some ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate) read 'adversaries' rather than 'sides,' but both point to the same reality: the nations would become instruments of divine discipline. The snare motif echoes Exodus 23:33 and 34:12, where serving their gods becomes a trap. Culturally, ancient Near Eastern covenants often listed curses for disobedience, including military failure and oppression. This verse shows God activating those covenant curses.
Textual Notes
The Hebrew text of Judges 2:3 reads 'they shall be in your sides' (לצדים), a phrase that is grammatically difficult. The word 'thorns' (צנינים) appears in the parallel passage Numbers 33:55 and is supplied in many English translations (KJV, ASV, BSB). The LXX translates 'straits' or 'distresses,' and the Vulgate reads 'adversaries' (Targum also). Keil and Delitzsch argue that 'sides' is an abbreviated expression for 'thorns in your sides' and does not require emendation. Some scholars propose that the Hebrew word צדים be read as צרים (adversaries). The consulted sources note these variants but do not settle the question.
Reception History
The verse has been read across Christian tradition as a sobering example of divine discipline. Early church fathers such as Origen allegorized the 'sides' as the presence of hostile spiritual forces that remain when believers fail to purge sin. In the Reformation, Luther and Calvin both used the passage to teach that God's promises are conditional on faith and obedience. Matthew Henry's commentary (18th century) highlights the tenderness of God's rebuke, he sends an angel, not a destroyer. Modern evangelical interpreters often connect this verse to the themes of judgment and restoration that structure the book of Judges. The verse is quoted less often in liturgy than in homilies, but its challenge to covenant faithfulness remains central.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- The Faithful Promise: God reminds Israel of his grace, he brought them out of Egypt and gave them the land. Every phrase in verse 1 reaffirms his covenant commitment.
- The Broken Command: Israel failed to obey the clear instruction: make no covenant, break down altars. Their disobedience tore the covenant bond.
- The Just Consequence: God announces that he will no longer drive out the nations. They will become thorns and snares, a direct implementation of the covenant curse spelled out in Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Five-Point Outline
- God's grace precedes judgment: The angel starts with what God did, not what Israel did.
- Disobedience breaks the covenant relationship: Israel's 'why have you done this?' reveals the heart of the problem.
- Judgment takes the form of removal of protection: 'I will not drive them out' is not a new rule but an end to special assistance.
- The remaining nations become instruments of discipline: Thorns and snares teach Israel what they failed to learn through obedience.
- The response of weeping shows the seriousness of the word: The people weep because they grasp the weight of what they have lost.
Illustration Hooks
- A parent warns a child not to touch a hot stove. The child disobeys. The parent then says, 'I will not stop you from getting burned.' The consequence teaches what the command could not.
- A gardener plants a vineyard and gives clear instructions to prune the vines. The gardener says, 'If you do not prune, the weeds will choke the vines.' The weeds are not a new punishment; they are the natural result of neglect.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- Did God change his mind about giving Israel the land?
- Is God's love conditional on our obedience?
- Why does God allow persistent problems in our lives, are they thorns left to teach us?
Leading a Discussion
Judges 2:3 is a hinge verse. It explains why Israel never fully possessed the land and why the period of the judges is marked by cycles of sin and oppression. The verse challenges us to consider how we respond when God sets boundaries and what happens when we choose to ignore them.
Discussion Questions
- Read Judges 2:1-3. What does the angel emphasize about God's character before he delivers the judgment?
- Why does God command Israel to make no covenant with the inhabitants and to break down their altars? What was at stake?
- How does the phrase 'they shall be in your sides' connect to Numbers 33:55 and Joshua 23:13? What picture does this language create?
- The word 'snare' (Hebrew mokesh) appears throughout the Pentateuch. What does it say about the danger of idolatry? Compare Exodus 23:33 and Deuteronomy 7:16.
- In what ways might leftover 'thorns' be present in our own lives, unaddressed compromises that later cause trouble?
- How does the people's weeping (verse 4) inform our understanding of how they received this word? Is weeping enough to change the outcome?
- What does this passage teach about the relationship between God's grace and human responsibility?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 23:33 | They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” |
| Exodus 34:12 | Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you; |
| Numbers 33:55 | “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those you let remain of them will be like pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land in which you dwell. |
| Deuteronomy 7:16 | You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver to you. Your eye shall not pity them. You shall not serve their gods; for that would be a snare to you. |
| Joshua 23:13 | know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you. |
| Judges 2:21 | I also will no longer drive out any of the nations that Joshua left when he died from before them; |
| Judges 3:6 | They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods. |
| I Kings 11:1 | Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that Israel's failure to fully possess the promised land was not an arbitrary divine decision but a direct result of their own covenant-breaking and transgressions. Their disobedience, not God's unwillingness, kept them from complete victory.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes clarifies that the angel's words are not a past reminder but a fresh pronouncement: God now declares He will not drive out the inhabitants, and this resolution itself is what makes the people weep. He also notes that the word "thorns" is a supplied addition, while other manuscripts read "adversaries."
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary treats this passage as a later editorial insertion that links the conquest to the Judges period. Its tone of stern rebuke and borrowed phrases from Numbers and Joshua betray a post-exilic historian at work. The Hebrew text also contains uncertainties, especially whether sides should be read as thorns or adversaries.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Note emphasizes that God’s judgment matches Israel’s disobedience: since they failed to drive out the nations completely, God declares He will leave them as constant irritants and their idols will lead Israel to destruction. The point is that partial obedience brings lingering trouble.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that God's decision not to drive out the Canaanites was based on His foreknowledge of Israel's sin. God withdrew His assistance, leaving Israel to their own sloth, so the remaining nations became painful thorns and their gods entangling snares, as the previous chapter illustrates.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch sees God's words here as the fulfilment of a threat already stated in Numbers and Joshua. They explain that "in your sides" is an abbreviated form of the earlier expression "thorns in your sides" and see no need for alternative conjectures.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange identifies the messenger confronting Israel as a human priest, like Phinehas, not a heavenly angel. He emphasizes that the messenger preaches from God's word, recounting past commands to convict the people. Their weeping at Bochim and sacrifice show they are moved by the law's warnings, but Lange sees this sorrow as still falling short of full repentance.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that God did not rest with giving Israel the written law alone; He sent particular messages from heaven as each occasion required. This angelic rebuke marked a new phase in God's dealings: when the people rejected Moses, God tried whether they would heed a messenger from heaven.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley rejects Matthew Henry's claim that the goodness of God's promised land will intensify the punishment of those who perish. He argues that this reasoning fails under predestination: if some are not elected, they never had a genuine offer, and if all the elect are saved, the grant was never free to the others.