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 2:15 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.
Judges 2:19 But it happened when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.
The verse centers on "listen", "judges", "either", "played", "harlot", "after", "other", and "gods". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "listen" and "judges", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Then Yahweh raised up judges who saved..." into verse 18's "Now when Yahweh raised up judges for...", so "listen" and "judges" 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 "listen" and "judges" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.