Judges 3
3
1The following are the nations the Lord left and used to test all those Israelites who had not known what it was like to be part of any of the wars in Canaan. 2(He did so to teach warfare to the later generations of Israel, particularly to those who had not previously experienced it.) 3They are: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. 4They were left there be to a test for the Israelites, to find out whether the Israelites would keep the Lord's commandments which he had given their forefathers through Moses. 5They lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6The Israelites intermarried with them, marrying their daughters, giving their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.
7The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight. They ignored the Lord their God and worshiped the images of Baals and Asherahs. 8The Lord became angry with Israel, so he sold them to Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim. The Israelites were subject to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.
9But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord to help them, he provided someone to rescue them, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, and he saved them. 10The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he became Israel's judge. He went to war with Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram, and the Lord handed the king over to Othniel, who was victorious. 11As a result, the country was a peace for forty years until Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.
12But once again the Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and because they did this the Lord gave power to Eglon, king of Moab, to conquer Israel. 13Eglon had the Ammonites and the Amalekite join him, and then attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.#3:13. “City of Palms”: Jericho. 14The Israelites were subject to Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years.
15Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord to help them, and he provided someone to rescue them, Ehud, son of Gera the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent him to pay the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. 16Ehud had made for himself a cubit long double-edged sword, and he strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes. 17He came and presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, who was a very fat man.
18Then after delivering the tribute he sent home those who had helped carry it. 19But when he reached the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back. He went to see Eglon, and told him, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.” The king told his attendants, “Silence!” and they all left.
20Ehud then went over to where Eglon was sitting alone in his cool upstairs room, and told him, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king got up from his seat, 21Ehud grabbed his sword with his left hand from his right thigh and drove it into Eglon's belly. 22The handle went in with the blade and the fat closed over it. So Ehud didn't pull the sword out, and the king defecated.
23Then Ehud closed and locked the doors, and escaped through the toilet.#3:23. “Toilet”: The meaning of the word is uncertain, some believe it means “porch,” however it appears that Ehud managed to get out of the room secretly. Descending through an open latrine seems to be the best conclusion. 24After he had left, the servants came and saw that the doors of the room were locked. “He must be using the toilet,” they concluded. 25So they waited until they couldn't stand it any more, and since he still hadn't opened the doors of the room, they went and found the key and opened the doors. There was their lord, lying dead on the floor.
26While the servants delayed acting, Ehud escaped, passing the stone idols and on to Seirah. 27When he got there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites joined him. They went down from the hills, with Ehud leading them. 28He told them, “Follow me, for the Lord has handed Moab, your enemy, over to you.” So they followed him down and took control of the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab. They didn't let anyone cross. 29Then they attacked the Moabites and killed around 10,000 of their best and strongest fighting men. Not a single one escaped. 30Moab was conquered that day and made subject to Israel, and the country was at peace for eighty years.
31After Ehud was Shamgar, son of Anath, who killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He also rescued Israel.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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.