Judges 3
3
1These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not fought in the wars of Canaan. 2(The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites who had not fought in those wars how to fight.) 3These are the nations: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the people of Sidon, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites—to see if they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors by Moses.
5The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people, and they allowed their daughters to marry the sons of those people. Israel also served their gods.
Othniel, the First Judge
7The Israelites did what the Lord said was wrong. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the idols of Baal and Asherah. 8So the Lord was angry with Israel and allowed Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia to rule over the Israelites for eight years. 9When Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord sent someone to save them. Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, saved the Israelites. 10The Spirit of the Lord entered Othniel, and he became Israel’s judge. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia. 11So the land was at peace for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud, the Judge
12Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel because of the evil Israel did. 13Eglon got the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took Jericho, the city of palm trees. 14So the people of Israel were ruled by Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15When the people cried to the Lord, he sent someone to save them. He was Ehud, son of Gera from the people of Benjamin, who was left-handed. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the payment he demanded. 16Ehud made himself a sword with two edges, about eighteen inches long, and he tied it to his right hip under his clothes. 17Ehud gave Eglon king of Moab the payment he demanded. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18After he had given Eglon the payment, Ehud sent away the people who had carried it. 19When he passed the statues near Gilgal, he turned around and said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.”
The king said, “Be quiet!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room. 20Ehud went to King Eglon, as he was sitting alone in the room above his summer palace.
Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair, 21Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right hip. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly! 22Even the handle sank in, and the blade came out his back. The king’s fat covered the whole sword, so Ehud left the sword in Eglon. 23Then he went out of the room and closed and locked the doors behind him.
24When the servants returned just after Ehud left, they found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was relieving himself. 25They waited for a long time. Finally they became worried because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them and saw their king lying dead on the floor!
26While the servants were waiting, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the statues and went to Seirah. 27When he reached the mountains of Ephraim he blew the trumpet. The people of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.
28He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has helped you to defeat your enemies, the Moabites.” So Israel followed Ehud and captured the crossings of the Jordan River. They did not allow the Moabites to cross the Jordan River. 29Israel killed about ten thousand strong and able men from Moab; not one escaped. 30So that day Moab was forced to be under the rule of Israel, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.
Shamgar, the Judge
31After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath saved Israel. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with a sharp stick used to guide oxen.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Judges 3
3
1These are the nations the Lord left behind to test all the Israelites who had not experienced any war in Canaan. 2The Lord left them to teach Israel’s descendants about war, at least those who had known nothing about it in the past. 3He left the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the border of Hamath. 4These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out if they would obey the commands the Lord had given their ancestors through Moses.
The People Fail the Test
5So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6The Israelites allowed their sons and daughters to marry these people. Israel also served their gods.
Othniel Defeats Cushan Rishathaim
7The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. They forgot the Lord their God and served other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Asherahs. 8The Lord became angry with the people of Israel. He used King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim to defeat them. So Israel served Cushan Rishathaim for eight years.
9Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent a savior to rescue them. It was Othniel, son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz. 10When the Lord’s Spirit came over him, he became the judge of Israel. He went out to war. The Lord handed King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim over to him, and Othniel overpowered him. 11So there was finally peace in the land for 40 years. Then Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.
Ehud Defeats Moab
12Once again, the people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. So the Lord made King Eglon of Moab stronger than Israel, because Israel did what the Lord considered evil. 13Eglon got the Ammonites and the Amalekites to help him, and they defeated the Israelites and occupied the City of Palms. 14The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab for 18 years.
15Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent a savior to rescue them. It was Ehud, a left-handed man from the tribe of Benjamin. (Ehud was the son of Gera.)
The people sent him with their tax payment to King Eglon of Moab. 16Ehud made a two-edged dagger for himself. He fastened it to his right side under his clothes. 17Then he brought the tax payment to King Eglon. (Eglon was a very fat man.) 18When Ehud had finished delivering the payment, he sent back the men who had carried it. 19However, Ehud turned around at the stone idols near Gilgal ⌞and returned to Eglon⌟. He said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”
The king replied, “Keep quiet!” Then all his advisers left the room.
20Ehud came up to him as he sat alone in his room on the roof. He said to the king, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his throne, 21Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right side, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. 22Even the handle went in after the blade. Eglon’s fat covered the blade because Ehud didn’t pull the dagger out. The blade stuck out in back. 23Ehud left the room. (He had closed and locked the doors of the room before he left.)
24After Ehud went out, Eglon’s advisers came in. They were surprised that the doors were locked. “He must be using the toilet,” they said. 25They waited and waited, but Eglon didn’t open the doors. So they took the key and opened the door. They were shocked to see their ruler lying on the floor, dead.
26While they had been waiting, Ehud escaped. He went past the stone idols and escaped to Seirah. 27When he arrived there, he blew a ram’s horn in the mountains of Ephraim ⌞to summon the troops⌟. So the troops of Israel came down from the mountains with him, and he led them. 28He told them, “Follow me! The Lord will hand your enemy Moab over to you.”
They followed him and captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River that led to Moab and refused to let anyone cross. 29At that time they killed about ten thousand of Moab’s best fighting men. Not one of them escaped. 30The power of Moab was crushed by Israel that day. So there was finally peace in the land for 80 years.
Shamgar Defeats the Philistines
31After Ehud came Shamgar, son of Anath. He killed 600 Philistines with a sharp stick used for herding oxen. So he, too, rescued Israel.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.