Judges 2:16 (WEB)

Passage

Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

Nearby Context

Judges 2:14 Yahweh’s anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Judges 2:15 Wherever they went out, Yahweh’s hand was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them; and they were very distressed.

Judges 2:16 Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

Judges 2:17 Yet they didn’t listen to their judges; for they prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed themselves down to them. They quickly turned away from the way in which their fathers walked, obeying Yahweh’s commandments. They didn’t do so.

Judges 2:18 When Yahweh raised up judges for them, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it grieved Yahweh because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saved", "yahweh", "raised", "judges", "hand", 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 out Yahweh s hand..." into verse 17's "Yet they didn t 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.