Judges 3

1 And these [are] the nations which the Lord left to prove Israel with them, all that had not known the wars of Chanaan.

These are the nations that the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan,

2 Only for the sake of the generations of Israel, to teach them war, only the men before them knew them not.

if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly:

3 The five lordships of the Phylistines, and every Chananite, and the Sidonian, and the Evite who lived in Libanus from the mount of Aermon to Laboemath.

the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

4 And [this] was done in order to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commands of the Lord, which he charged their fathers by the hand of Moses.

These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given their fathers through Moses.

5 And the children of Israel lived in the midst of the Chananite, and the Chettite, and the Amorite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite.

Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

6 And they took their daughters for wives to themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

8 And the Lord was very angry with Israel, and sold them into the hand of Chusarsathaim king of Syria of the rivers: and the children of Israel served Chusarsathaim eight years.

Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him eight years.

9 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord; and the Lord raised up a saviour to Israel, and he saved them, Gothoniel the son of Kenez, the brother of Chaleb younger than himself.

But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.

10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war against Chusarsathaim: and the Lord delivered into his hand Chusarsathaim king of Syria of the rivers, and his hand prevailed against Chusarsathaim.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.

11 And the land was quiet forty years; and Gothoniel the son of Kenez died.

So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

12 And the children of Israel continued to do evil before the Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglom king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil before the Lord.

Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

13 And he gathered to himself all the children of Ammon and Amalec, and went and struck Israel, and took possession of the city of Palm-trees.

After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.

14 And the children of Israel served Eglom the king of Moab eighteen years.

The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

15 And the children of Israel cried to the Lord; and he raised up to them a saviour, Aod the son of Gera a son of Jemeni, a man who used both hands alike: and the children of Israel sent gifts by his hand to Eglom king of Moab.

And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

16 And Aod made himself a dagger of two edges, of a span long, and he girded it under his cloak upon his right thigh.

Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak

17 And he went, and brought the presents to Eglom king of Moab, and Eglom [was] a very handsome man.

and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an obese man.

18 And it came to pass when [Aod] had made an end of offering his gifts, that he dismissed those that brought the gifts.

After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he ushered out those who had carried it.

19 And he himself returned from the quarries that are by Galgal; and Aod said, I have a secret errand to you, O king! and Eglom said to him, Be silent: and he sent away from his presence all who waited upon him.

But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” “Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him.

20 And Aod went in to him; and he sat in his own upper summer chamber quite alone; and Aod said, I have a message from God to you, O king: and Eglom rose up from his throne near him.

Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat.

21 And it came to pass as he arose, that Aod stretched forth his left hand, and took the dagger off his right thigh, and plunged it into his belly;

And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.

22 and drove in also the haft after the blade, and the fat closed in upon the blade, for he drew not out the dagger from his belly.

Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s bowels emptied.

23 And Aod went out to the porch, and passed out by the appointed [guards], and shut the doors of the chamber upon him, and locked [them].

Then Ehud went out through the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upper room behind him.

24 And he went out: and Eglom's servants came, and saw, and behold, the doors of the upper chamber [were] locked; and they said, Does he not uncover his feet in the summer-chamber?

After Ehud was gone, Eglon’s servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. “He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said.

25 And they waited till they were ashamed, and, behold, there was no one that opened the doors of the upper chamber; and they took the key, and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead upon the earth.

So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor.

26 And Aod escaped while they were in a tumult, and no one paid attention to him; and he passed the quarries, and escaped to Setirotha.

Ehud, however, had escaped while the servants waited. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.

27 And it came to pass when Aod came into the land of Israel, that he blew the horn in mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came down with him from the mountain, and he [was] before them.

On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.

28 And he said to them, Come down after me, for the Lord God has delivered our enemies, even Moab, into our hand; and they went down after him, and seized on the fords of Jordan before Moab, and he did not suffer a man to pass over.

“Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.

29 And they struck Moab on that day about ten thousand men, every [lusty] person and every mighty man; and not a man escaped.

At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men. Not one of them escaped.

30 So Moab was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest eighty years; and Aod judged them till he died.

So Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.

31 And after him rose up Samegar the son of Dinach, and struck the Philistines to the number of six hundred men with a ploughshare [such as is drawn by] oxen; and he too delivered Israel.

After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.