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Judges 2:15
ESV Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
NIV Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the LORD was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
NASB Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and just as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.
CSB Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.
NLT Every time Israel went out to battle, the Lord fought against them, causing them to be defeated, just as he had warned. And the people were in great distress.
KJV Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

What does Judges 2:15 mean?

When Israel first entered the land of Canaan, the "Promised Land" meant for Israel, the hand of God was with them. God's plan and purpose was to purge the depravity of Canaanite culture from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4–5). When they attacked other peoples, they often won easily, even against overwhelming odds, because the Lord fought for them.

Now the exact opposite has come to pass. It's not that the Lord has stopped fighting for Israel against her enemies. It's that the hand of the Lord is against His chosen people to harm them. He batters Israel with her enemies, just as He promised to do if the people broke their covenant with Him by worshiping other gods. The Lord was true to His word.

The final sentence of this verse may be an understatement: As a direct result of abandoning the Lord and participating in the wicked worship practices of other gods, the Israelites were in terrible distress at the Lord's hand.
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