Judges 6:2 (DRB)

Passage

And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and caves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

Nearby Context

Judges 6:1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years,

Judges 6:2 And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and caves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

Judges 6:3 And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest of the eastern nations, came up:

Judges 6:4 And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade, even to the entrance of Gaza: and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grievously", "oppressed", "themselves", "dens", "caves", "mountains", "strong", and "holds". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grievously" and "oppressed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And the children of Israel again did..." into verse 3's "And when Israel had sown Madian and...", so "grievously" and "oppressed" 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 "grievously" and "oppressed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.