Judges 2:4 (ASV)

Passage

And it came to pass, when the angel of Jehovah spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

Nearby Context

Judges 2:2 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?

Judges 2:3 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.

Judges 2:4 And it came to pass, when the angel of Jehovah spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

Judges 2:5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto Jehovah.

Judges 2:6 Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "pass", "angel", "jehovah", "spake", "words", "children", and "israel". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "pass", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Wherefore I also said I will not..." into verse 5's "And they called the name of that...", so "came" and "pass" belong inside that flow. In Judges context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.