They vexed and oppressed the children of Israel that year: eighteen years [oppressed they] all the children of Israel that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
The genuine confession and repentance of the Israelites and God’s compassion for them combined to secure Israel’s deliverance eventually (Judges 10:16). God’s wayward son, Israel, had broken His heart. These verses illustrate the tension God felt as He loved Israel loyally and yet found it necessary to discipline His first-born.