Judges 3
3
1-2And the Lord had another reason for letting these enemies stay. The Israelites needed to learn how to fight in war, just as their ancestors had done. Each new generation would have to learn by fighting 3the Philistines and their five rulers, as well as the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in the Lebanon Mountains from Mount Baal-Hermon to Hamath Pass.#3.3 Hamath Pass: Or “Lebo-Hamath.”
4Moses had told the Israelites what the Lord had commanded them to do, and now the Lord was using these nations to find out if Israel would obey. 5-6But they refused. And some of them even married Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who lived all around them. That's how they started worshiping foreign gods.
Othniel
7The Israelites sinned against the Lord by forgetting him and worshiping idols of Baal and Astarte. 8This made the Lord angry, so he let Israel be defeated by King Cushan Rishathaim of northern Syria,#3.8 northern Syria: The Hebrew text has “Aram-Naharaim,” probably referring to the land around the city of Haran (see Genesis 24.10; 25.20; 28.2,6; 31.18,20; 33.18; 35.23-26; 46.8-15; 48.7). who ruled Israel eight years and made everyone pay taxes. 9The Israelites begged the Lord for help, and so he chose Othniel to rescue them. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.#3.9 Othniel was the son of … Kenaz: See the note at 1.13. 10The Spirit of the Lord took control of Othniel, and he led Israel in a war against Cushan Rishathaim. The Lord let Othniel win, 11and Israel was at peace until Othniel died about 40 years later.
Ehud
12Once more the Israelites started disobeying the Lord. So he let them be defeated by King Eglon of Moab, 13who had joined forces with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to attack Israel. Eglon and his army captured Jericho.#3.13 Jericho: See the note at 1.16. 14Then he ruled Israel for 18 years and forced the Israelites to pay heavy taxes.
15-16The Israelites begged the Lord for help, and the Lord chose Ehud#3.15,16 Ehud: Hebrew “Ehud the son of Gera.” from the Benjamin tribe to rescue them. They put Ehud in charge of taking the taxes to King Eglon, but before Ehud went, he made a double-edged dagger. Ehud was left-handed, so he strapped the dagger to his right thigh, where it was hidden under his robes.
17-18Ehud and some other Israelites took the taxes to Eglon, who was a very fat man. As soon as they gave the taxes to Eglon, Ehud said it was time to go home.
19-20Ehud went with the other Israelites as far as the statues#3.19,20 statues: Or “stone idols” or “stone monuments.” at Gilgal.#3.19,20 Gilgal: About two and a half kilometers from Jericho, where Eglon probably was (see verse 13). Then he turned back and went upstairs to the room#3.19,20 upstairs … room: Houses usually had flat roofs, and sometimes a room was built on one corner of the roof where it could best catch the breeze and be kept cooler than the rest of the house. where Eglon had his throne. Ehud said, “Your Majesty, I need to talk with you in private.”
Eglon replied, “Don't say anything yet!” His officials left the room, and Eglon stood up as Ehud came closer.
“Yes,” Ehud said, “I have a message for you from God!” 21Ehud pulled out the dagger with his left hand and shoved it so far into Eglon's stomach 22-23that even the handle was buried in his fat. Ehud left the dagger there. Then after closing and locking the doors to the room, he climbed through a window onto the porch#3.22,23 he climbed … porch: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. 24and left.
When the king's officials came back and saw that the doors were locked, they said, “The king is probably inside relieving himself.” 25They stood there waiting until they felt foolish, but Eglon still didn't open the doors. Finally, they unlocked the doors and found King Eglon lying dead on the floor. 26But by that time, Ehud had already escaped past the statues.#3.26 statues: See the note at 3.19,20.
Ehud went to the town of Seirah 27-28in the hill country of Ephraim and started blowing a trumpet as a signal to call the Israelites together. When they came, he shouted, “Follow me! The Lord will help us defeat the Moabites.”
The Israelites followed Ehud down to the Jordan valley, and they captured the places where people cross the river on the way to Moab. They would not let anyone go across, 29and before the fighting was over, they killed about 10,000 Moabite warriors—not one escaped alive.
30Moab was so badly defeated that it was a long time before they were strong enough to attack Israel again. And Israel was at peace for 80 years.
Shamgar
31Shamgar the son of Anath was the next to rescue Israel. In one battle, he used a sharp wooden pole#3.31 sharp wooden pole: The Hebrew text has “cattle prod,” a pole with a sharpened tip or metal point at one end. to kill 600 Philistines.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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.