Judges 2:19 (GNV)

Passage

Yet when the Iudge was dead, they returned, and did worse then their fathers, in following other gods to serue them and worshippe them: they ceased not from their owne inuentions, nor from their rebellious way.

Nearby Context

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.

Judges 2:18 And when the Lord had raysed them vp Iudges, the Lord was with the Iudge, and deliuered them out of the hande of their enemies all the dayes of the Iudge (for the Lord had compassion on their gronings, because of them that oppressed them and tormented them)

Judges 2:19 Yet when the Iudge was dead, they returned, and did worse then their fathers, in following other gods to serue them and worshippe them: they ceased not from their owne inuentions, nor from their rebellious way.

Judges 2:20 Wherfore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sayd, Because this people hath transgressed my couenant, which I commaded their fathers, and hath not obeyed my voyce,

Judges 2:21 Therefore will I no more cast out before them any of the nations, which Ioshua left when he dyed,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iudge", "dead", "returned", "worse", "fathers", "following", "other", and "gods". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "iudge" and "dead", 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 had raysed them..." into verse 20's "Wherfore the wrath of the Lord was...", so "iudge" and "dead" 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 "iudge" and "dead" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.