Judges 3

1 These are the nations which the Lord left, so that by them he might instruct Israel and all who had not known the wars of the Canaanites,

And these [are] the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan;

2 so that afterward their sons might learn to contend with their enemies, and to have a willingness to do battle:

(only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them) —

3 the five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who were living on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-Hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.

five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath;

4 And he left them, so that by them he might test Israel, as to whether or not they would listen to the commandments of the Lord, which he instructed to their fathers by the hand of Moses.

and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 And so, the sons of Israel lived in the midst of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,

6 And they took their daughters as wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;

7 And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot their God, while serving the Baals and Ashtaroth.

and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.

8 And the Lord, having become angry with Israel, delivered them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia, and they served him for eight years.

And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years;

9 And they cried out to the Lord, who raised up for them a savior, and he freed them, namely, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb.

and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them — Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother;

10 And the Spirit of the Lord was in him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to fight, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Syria, and he overwhelmed him.

and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim;

11 And the land was quiet for forty years. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.

and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,

12 Then the sons of Israel resumed doing evil in the sight of the Lord, who strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against them because they did evil in his sight.

and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah;

13 And he joined to him the sons of Ammon and the sons of Amalek. And he went forth and struck Israel, and he possessed the City of Palms.

and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms;

14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years.

and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

15 And afterward, they cried out to the Lord, who raised up for them a savior, called Ehud, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, who used either hand as well as the right hand. And the sons of Israel sent gifts to Eglon, the king of Moab, by him.

And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man — shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab;

16 And he made for himself a two-edged sword, having a handle, reaching to the middle, the length of the palm of a hand. And he was girded with it under his cloak, on the right thigh.

and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit [is] its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh;

17 And he offered the gifts to Eglon, the king of Moab. Now Eglon was exceedingly fat.

and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon [is] a very fat man.

18 And when he had presented the gifts to him, he followed out his companions, who had arrived with him.

And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the present,

19 And then, returning from Gilgal where the idols were, he said to the king, “I have a secret word for you, O king.” And he ordered silence. And when all those who were around him had departed,

and he himself hath turned back from the graven images which [are] at Gilgal, and saith, 'A secret word I have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, 'Hush!' and go out from him do all those standing by him.

20 Ehud entered to him. Now he was sitting alone in a summer upper room. And he said, “I have a word from God to you.” And immediately he rose up from his throne.

And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith, 'A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the throne;

21 And Ehud extended his left hand, and he took the dagger from his right thigh. And he thrust it into his abdomen

and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly;

22 so strongly that the handle followed the blade into the wound, and was enclosed by the great amount of fat. Neither did he withdraw the sword. Instead, he left it in the body just as he had struck with it. And immediately, by the private parts of nature, the filth of the bowels went out.

and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament.

23 Then Ehud carefully closed the doors of the upper room. And securing the bars,

And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted [it];

24 he departed by a back exit. And the servants of the king, entering, saw that the doors of the upper room were closed, and they said, “Perhaps he is emptying his bowels in the summer room.”

and he hath gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, 'He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall.'

25 And after waiting a long time, until they were embarrassed, and seeing that no one opened the door, they took the key, and opening it, they found their lord lying dead on the ground.

And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth — dead.

26 But Ehud, while they were in confusion, escaped and passed by the place of the idols, from which he had returned. And he arrived at Seirath.

And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath.

27 And immediately he sounded the trumpet on Mount Ephraim. And the sons of Israel descended with him, he himself advancing at the front.

And it cometh to pass, in his coming in, that he bloweth with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them;

28 And he said to them: “Follow me. For the Lord has delivered our enemies, the Moabites, into our hands.” And they descended after him, and they occupied the fords of the Jordan, which cross over to Moab. And they did not permit anyone to cross.

and he saith unto them, 'Pursue after me, for Jehovah hath given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;' and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over.

29 And so, they struck down the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand, all strong and robust men. None of them were able to escape.

And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valour, and not a man hath escaped,

30 And Moab was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was quiet for eighty years.

and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land resteth eighty years.

31 After him, there was Shamgar, the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred men of the Philistines with a plowshare. And he also defended Israel.

And after him hath been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smiteth the Philistines — six hundred men — with an ox-goad, and he saveth — he also — Israel.