Judges 2:20 (DBY)

Passage

And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel; and he said, Because this nation hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and hath not hearkened unto my voice,

Nearby Context

Judges 2:18 And when Jehovah raised them up judges, then Jehovah was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented Jehovah because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them.

Judges 2:19 And it came to pass when the judge died, that they turned back and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them: they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

Judges 2:20 And the anger of Jehovah was hot against Israel; and he said, Because this nation hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and hath not hearkened unto my voice,

Judges 2:21 I also will not henceforth dispossess from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died;

Judges 2:22 that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Jehovah to walk therein, as their fathers did keep [it], or not.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "anger", "jehovah", "against", "israel", "said", "nation", "hath", and "transgressed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "anger" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And it came to pass when the..." into verse 21's "I also will not henceforth dispossess from...", so "anger" and "jehovah" 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 "anger" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.