Judges 2:18

was with the judge as He had been with Moses and Joshua, Joshua 1:5. The Hebrew tense here shews that the verbs was, saved, denote frequentative acts in the past, used to be, used to save; similarly, it repented the Lordmeans the Lord used to be moved to pity. Not that Jehovah abandoned His fixed intention to punish, but His compassion was roused by the people's cries to mitigate His purpose.

oppressed … vexed The first word is used characteristically of Israel's oppressors, Judges 4:3; Judges 6:9; Judges 10:12; 1 Samuel 10:18; cf. Judges 1:34 n.The second word occurs only here and Joel 2:8; it is common in Aramaic, and may be a late gloss on them that oppressed. LXX. cod. A omits it.