Judges 2:18

‘ And when Yahweh raised up judges, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For Yahweh relented because of their groaning as a result of those who oppressed them and vexed them.'

The repetition compared with Judges 2:16 is deliberate. The process was repeated over and over and over again. Yahweh would continually raise up judges over the different tribes. He would be with the judges and save the tribes out of the hands of their enemies. Sometimes it would be one tribe, sometimes another, sometimes a group of tribes. Sometimes the judges would overlap. But He would do it because He was sorry for the people and the predicament they found themselves in. He heard ‘their groaning' (compare Exodus 2:7; Exodus 2:24; Exodus 6:5 where we are also told He remembered His covenant with Abraham) and He relented from His hard stance and had mercy on them.

“Yahweh relented.” His covenant was firm, therefore He had to relent. It was in the nature of His promises. He did not really change His mind, it only looked like it from a human point of view. This is human language. Yahweh had always intended to finally relax His anger when the time was right.