Judges 2:15

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.

Judges 2:15 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 2:15

Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against
them for evil
They prospered not in any business they undertook, or put their hands unto; or in any expedition they went upon, or when they went out to war, as Kimchi, Ben Melech, and Abarbinel explain the phrase: the battle went against them, because God was against them; his hand was against them, and there was no resisting and turning that back; and this sense seems to agree with what goes before and follows after; though in some Jewish writings ^F1 it is explained of those that went out of the land to escape the calamities of it, and particularly of Elimelech and his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, ( Ruth 1:1 Ruth 1:2 ) ;

as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them;
having ratified and confirmed his threatening with an oath, that if they served other gods, he would surely bring upon them all the curses of the law; see ( Deuteronomy 29:12-20 ) ;

and they were greatly distressed;
by the Canaanites they suffered to dwell among them, who were pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides, as had been threatened them; and by the nations round about them, who came in upon them, and plundered them, and carried them captive.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 12. p. 34.

Judges 2:15 In-Context

13 And they forsook Jehovah, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

14 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of Jehovah was against them for evil, as Jehovah had spoken, and as Jehovah had sworn unto them: and they were sore distressed.

16 And Jehovah raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those that despoiled them.

17 And yet they hearkened not unto their judges; for they played the harlot after other gods, and bowed themselves down unto them: they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of Jehovah; [but] they did not so.