This repetitive verse sets the pattern for the judges’ episodes that follow. It makes clear that the LORD hears the cries of his people and has pity on them. He therefore raises up a leader or judge to save Israel. The important Hebrew root sh-f-t (“judge”) occurs three times here.

Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them is a time clause meaning “Every time the LORD….” The emphasis is on Yahweh initiating the action. For raised up, see the discussion at verse 2.16. Judges is a plural noun referring to the heroes or leaders God appoints and sends to deliver his people (see comments on verse 2.16). The pronoun them refers to the Israelites, and can be made explicit if need be.

The LORD was with the judge: The name of the LORD, Yahweh, appears three times in this verse, making clear that it is the LORD and he alone who saves Israel. Here he is said to be with the judge. This phrase is used often in the Old Testament, for example, for Joseph (Gen 39.23), and in this book, for Judah (verse 1.19). It means more than just being with a person. It implies that the LORD is enabling and giving power to a person for a specific task. Good News Translation translates “the LORD would help that leader.” Another solution might be to say “Yahweh gave the leader power.” While the first occurrence speaks of judges in the plural, here there is a singular form judge, which surely means “each judge.”

And he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: Whereas in verse 2.14 the Israelites were “sold … into the power [hand] of their enemies,” here they are saved … from the hand of their enemies (see comments on verse 2.14 and verse 2.16). The pronoun he seems ambiguous, since it could refer to the LORD or to the judge he raised up. However, Yahweh is the subject of the preceding clause, so it is more likely that he is the one who is acting here. Thus the majority of English versions take the subject of saved to be Yahweh (Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), while Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version remain ambiguous. Contemporary English Version, however, takes a different position, seeing the judge as the one who delivers the people: “He would choose a judge and help that judge rescue Israel from its enemies.” Translators will have to make a choice here as to which interpretation to follow.

All the days of the judge suggests that during the lifetime of the particular judge, the Israelites were safe from further attack from their enemies. Thus the verb saved seems to also carry an idea of protection. For all the days, see verse 2.7. Since this phrase often refers to the life of a person, we can render all the days of the judge as “throughout the life of the one serving as judge,” “throughout the lifetime of that leader,” or perhaps “as long as that leader lived.”

This first half of the verse may be rendered as follows:

• Each time the LORD sent Israel a leader, the LORD helped that leader and saved the people from their enemies. They were safe as long as that leader was alive.

For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning: In the episodes that follow, before the LORD raises up a judge, there is usually a statement that says the people “cried to the LORD” (verse 3.9, 15; verse 4.3; verse 6.7; verse 10.10). Here this information comes as an explanation introduced by the conjunction for, rendering the Hebrew particle ki. Versions treat this particle differently. While some take this as a causal conjunction, introducing the reason the LORD had pity on the people (Revised Standard Version, New International Version, English Standard Version), it is omitted in others (Good News Translation, NET Bible). Some reorder the elements to conform to chronological order: “the people groaned and the LORD had pity on them” (so Contemporary English Version).

Was moved to pity is an English idiom, meaning “had compassion [on them]” or “felt sorry [for them].” The Hebrew root of the verb here (n-ch-m) expresses the reaction of an outside party to a person’s unfortunate situation. Translators are free to use idiomatic expressions in their language, for example, “[their] pity hit [the LORD]” or “pity entered into [the LORD].” In this book the LORD’s anger and his pity are two dominant themes.

By their groaning (literally “from their groaning”) shows what sparked God’s reaction. In English it is more natural to say “because they groaned,” as in Good News Translation. Groaning is a cry or other sound expressing agony and suffering. The Hebrew term for groaning is rare, occurring only here in this book and only three other times in the Old Testament. However, it seems significant that is also used to describe the people’s groaning during the time they were in slavery in Egypt (Exo 2.24). A possible translation is “their cry of agony caused the LORD to feel pity for them.” In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that the LORD heard their groaning prior to having pity, for example, “when the LORD heard their cries of suffering, he had pity on them.”

Because of those who afflicted and oppressed them: Because of is literally “from the face of,” which introduces the source of the suffering, leading to these groans. Because of or “caused by” fit the context well. Those who afflicted and oppressed them renders two Hebrew verbs that describe how the enemies of the Israelites treated them. The first verb rendered afflicted means literally “to press” or “to squeeze.” It is used, for example, when Balaam’s donkey has to squeeze through a tight place (Num 22.25), and to describe figuratively the oppression of the Egyptians in Exo 3.9. It is also used in this book in verse 1.34, where it refers to the enemy pushing back the Danites into the mountains. The second verb translated oppressed is a rarer verb, meaning “to crowd,” as in Joel 2.8, describing the jostling of soldiers. Both Hebrew verbs are participles here, describing those who afflicted the Israelites. However, the emphasis seems to be rather on the people undergoing the suffering rather than on those who did the oppressing. So for this clause we might say “because they were oppressed and suffering.” If the language does not have two distinct verbs for afflicted and oppressed, one verb can be used with a modifier, for example, “because they were greatly oppressed” or “because their enemies oppressed them terribly.” Good News Translation ties this clause to the Israelites’ groaning, saying “because they groaned under their suffering and oppression,” which provides another model.

Contemporary English Version switches the order of certain elements here, giving a very clear rendering: “When enemies made life miserable for the Israelites, the LORD would feel sorry for them.” This adjustment puts the reason before the result and so makes the sentence easier to understand, though “made life miserable” seems slightly weaker than the notion of “oppression.” Another possible model is:

• The LORD felt sorry for them when he heard their cries of suffering and saw the affliction and oppression they endured.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .