Judges 2:17 (DRB)

Passage

Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things contrary.

Nearby Context

Judges 2:15 But whithersoever they meant to go, the hand of the Lord was upon them, as he had said, and as he had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed.

Judges 2:16 And the Lord raised up judges, to deliver them from the hands of those that oppressed them: but they would not hearken to them,

Judges 2:17 Committing fornication with strange gods, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things contrary.

Judges 2:18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, in their days, he was moved to mercy, and heard the groanings of the afflicted, and delivered them from the slaughter of the oppressors.

Judges 2:19 But after the judge was dead, they returned, and did much worse things than their fathers had done, following strange gods, serving them, and adoring them. They left not their own inventions, and the stubborn way, by which they were accustomed to walk.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "all things", "committing", "fornication", "strange", "gods", "adoring", "quickly", and "forsook". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "all things" and "committing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "And the Lord raised up judges to..." into verse 18's "And when the Lord raised them up...", so "all things" and "committing" 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 "all things" and "committing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.