The Meaning of Judges 2:2 Explained

Judges 2:2

KJV: And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

YLT: and saith, 'I cause you to come up out of Egypt, and bring you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers, and say, I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye -- ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land -- their altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My voice -- what is this ye have done?

Darby: and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my command. What is this you have done?

ASV: and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice: why have ye done this?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And ye shall make  no league  with the inhabitants  of this land;  ye shall throw down  their altars:  but ye have not obeyed  my voice:  why have ye done  this? 

What does Judges 2:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 2:1-5 - Flagging In Their Great Task
The conquest of Canaan was very partial. Israel dwelled among the ancient inhabitants of the land, much as the Normans did among the Anglo-Saxons, whom they found in England; and the mixture of the two peoples was the beginning of moral degeneracy and decline in the chosen race. Wherever there was the old-time faith in God, as in the case of Caleb, the land was cleared of the Canaanite; but where God was out, the Canaanite was in.
So it is in the life of the soul. It is intended that the whole should be yielded to Christ, that no evil passion should reign, that no besetting sin should enthrall. But how often Christian people give up the fight! They say that the old Adam is too strong for them, and settle down to a joint-occupation. Let us not yield to reasoning like this! The Lion of Judah can break every chain. By faith in Him we can be more than conquerors! The Holy Spirit strives with the flesh, so that we may not do as otherwise we would. Only give Him the right of way! Sin shall not reign in your mortal body! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 2

1  An angel rebukes the people at Bochim
6  The wickedness of the new generation after Joshua
14  God's anger and pity toward them
20  The Canaanites left to prove Israel

What do the individual words in Judges 2:2 mean?

And you no shall make covenant with the inhabitants of land this their altars' you shall tear down but not you have obeyed My voice what [is] this you have done
וְאַתֶּ֗ם לֹֽא־ תִכְרְת֤וּ בְרִית֙ לְיֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙ הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את מִזְבְּחוֹתֵיהֶ֖ם תִּתֹּצ֑וּן וְלֹֽא־ שְׁמַעְתֶּ֥ם בְּקֹלִ֖י מַה־ זֹּ֥את ؟ עֲשִׂיתֶֽם

וְאַתֶּ֗ם  And  you 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, second person masculine plural
Root: אַתְּ 
Sense: you (second pers.
לֹֽא־  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִכְרְת֤וּ  shall  make 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural
Root: כָּרַת  
Sense: to cut, cut off, cut down, cut off a body part, cut out, eliminate, kill, cut a covenant.
בְרִית֙  covenant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּרִית  
Sense: covenant, alliance, pledge.
לְיֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙  with  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הָאָ֣רֶץ  of  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הַזֹּ֔את  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
מִזְבְּחוֹתֵיהֶ֖ם  their  altars' 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מִזְבֵּחַ  
Sense: altar.
תִּתֹּצ֑וּן  you  shall  tear  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: נָתַץ  
Sense: to pull down, break down, cast down, throw down, beat down, destroy, overthrow, break out (teeth).
וְלֹֽא־  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שְׁמַעְתֶּ֥ם  you  have  obeyed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
בְּקֹלִ֖י  My  voice 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
מַה־  what  [is] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
זֹּ֥את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
؟ עֲשִׂיתֶֽם  you  have  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.