Judges 2:16 (LSB)

Passage

Then Yahweh raised up judges who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

Nearby Context

Judges 2:14 And the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Judges 2:15 Wherever they went, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken and as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

Judges 2:16 Then Yahweh raised up judges who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

Judges 2:17 Yet they did not listen to their judges either, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of Yahweh; they did not do as their fathers.

Judges 2:18 Now when Yahweh raised up judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Yahweh was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and suppressed them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saved", "yahweh", "raised", "judges", "hands", and "plundered". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saved" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Wherever they went the hand of Yahweh..." into verse 17's "Yet they did not listen to their...", so "saved" and "yahweh" 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 "saved" and "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.