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.
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.
Judges 2:20 And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said: Behold this nation hath made void my covenant, which I had made with their fathers, and hath despised to hearken to my voice:
Judges 2:21 I also will not destroy the nations which Josue left when he died:
The verse centers on "after", "judge", "dead", "returned", "much", "worse", "things", and "than". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "after" and "judge", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And when the Lord raised them up..." into verse 20's "And the wrath of the Lord was...", so "after" and "judge" 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 "after" and "judge" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.