Judges 1:25
And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.
The verse stands in Judges 1, part of the introduction and opening chapters of the book. Within that opening it belongs with Judges 2 as part of Judges 1-6. It belongs to the time sometime after the death of Joshua and before Samuel was raised up, opening a new period for Israel after deliverance from oppression.
That setting shows that not all of the country had been possessed because Israel failed to carry out the instructions God gave. In that new period the nation was left free to choose obedience or self-will and thus shape its future. The failure brought consequent captivity, and help came through the judges, or saviours, whom the Lord raised up as deliverers in their behalf. The broader period lasted about 350 to 450 years and was marked by constant ups and downs, backsliding from God, and repeated captivities to surrounding enemies. It shows that God uses very unpromising material, yet always the best at hand.