Judges 3

¹Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; ²only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least those who knew nothing of it before: ³the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. ⁴They were left to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the LORD’s commandments, which he commanded their fathers by Moses. ⁵The children of Israel lived amongst the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁶They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods. ⁷The children of Israel did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth. ⁸Therefore the LORD’s anger burnt against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan Rishathaim eight years. ⁹When the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰The LORD’s Spirit came on him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. His hand prevailed against Cushan Rishathaim. ¹¹The land had rest forty years, then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹²The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight, and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the LORD’s sight. ¹³He gathered the children of Ammon and Amalek to himself; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees. ¹⁴The children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. ¹⁵But when the children of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a saviour for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he wore it under his clothing on his right thigh. ¹⁷He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸When Ehud had finished offering the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. ¹⁹But he himself turned back from the stone idols that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”

The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him left him.

²⁰Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from God to you.” He arose out of his seat. ²¹Ehud put out his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body. ²²The handle also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade, for he didn’t draw the sword out of his body; and it came out behind. ²³Then Ehud went out onto the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room on him, and locked them.

²⁴After he had gone, his servants came and saw that the doors of the upper room were locked. They said, “Surely he is covering his feet in the upper room.” ²⁵They waited until they were ashamed; and behold, he didn’t open the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their lord had fallen down dead on the floor.

²⁶Ehud escaped while they waited, passed beyond the stone idols, and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷When he had come, he blew a shofar in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he led them.

²⁸He said to them, “Follow me; for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” They followed him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and didn’t allow any man to pass over. ²⁹They struck at that time about ten thousand men of Moab, every strong man and every man of valour. No man escaped. ³⁰So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. Then the land had rest eighty years.

³¹After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. He also saved Israel.