Judges 2:15 (GNV)

Passage

Whithersoeuer they went out, the hand of the Lord was sore against them, as ye Lord had sayd, and as the Lord had sworne vnto them: so he punished them sore.

Nearby Context

Judges 2:13 So they forsooke the Lord, and serued Baal, and Ashtaroth.

Judges 2:14 And the wrath of the Lord was hote against Israel, and he deliuered them into the hands of spoylers, that spoyled them, and he sold them into the handes of their enemies rounde about them, so that they could no longer stande before their enemies.

Judges 2:15 Whithersoeuer they went out, the hand of the Lord was sore against them, as ye Lord had sayd, and as the Lord had sworne vnto them: so he punished them sore.

Judges 2:16 Notwithstanding, the Lord raysed vp Iudges, which deliuered them out of the hands of their oppressours.

Judges 2:17 But yet they would not obey their Iudges: for they went a whoring after other gods, and worshipped them, and turned quickly out of the way, wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandements of the Lord: they did not so.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whithersoeuer", "went", "hand", "lord", "sore", "against", and "sayd". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whithersoeuer" and "went", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "And the wrath of the Lord was..." into verse 16's "Notwithstanding the Lord raysed vp Iudges which...", so "whithersoeuer" and "went" 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 "whithersoeuer" and "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.