Judges 3:1-7

1These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan.

2He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.

3These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

4These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

5So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,

6and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods.

7The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They forgot about the Lord their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.