Judges 3:1-31
Judges Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar
1 These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge[b] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[c] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[d] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”
The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[e] and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch[f]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.
26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.
28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30 That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.
31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
The LORD did not force all the other nations to leave Israel’s land...He wanted to test the Israelites...None of the Israelites living at this time had fought in the wars to take the land of Canaan...So he let those other nations stay in their country...(He did this to teach the Israelites who had not fought in those wars.)..These are the nations the LORD left in the land: 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...He left those nations in the land to test the Israelites...He wanted to see if the Israelites would obey the LORD’s commands that He had given to their ancestors through Moses...The Israelites lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, the Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites...The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people...They allowed their own daughters to marry the sons of those people...The Israelites also began to worship their gods...
The LORD saw that the Israelites did evil things...They forgot about the LORD their God and served the false gods Baal and Asherah...The LORD was angry with the Israelites, so he allowed King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim to defeat the Israelites and to rule over them...The Israelites were under that king’s rule for eight years...But the Israelites cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent a man named Othniel, their first judge, to save them...He was the son of Kenaz, who was Caleb’s younger brother...Othniel saved the Israelites...The Spirit of the LORD filled Othniel, and he became the first judge for the Israelites...He led the Israelites to war...The LORD helped Othniel defeat King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram...So the land was at peace for 40 years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died...
Again the Israelites did things the LORD considered evil, and the LORD saw them doing these things...So the LORD gave King Eglon of Moab power to defeat the Israelites...Eglon got help from the Ammonites and the Amalekites...They joined him and attacked the Israelites...Eglon and his army defeated the Israelites and forced them to leave the City of Palm Trees...King Eglon of Moab ruled over the Israelites for 18 years...The Israelites cried to the LORD for help, so he sent a man named Ehud son of Gera to save them...Ehud, was Israel's second judge...He was from the tribe of Benjamin and was trained to fight with his left hand...The Israelites sent Ehud with a gift to King Eglon of Moab...Ehud made himself a sword with two sharp edges that was about 12 inches long...He tied the sword to his right thigh and hid it under his uniform...So Ehud brought the gift to King Eglon of Moab...Eglon was a very fat man...After offering the gift, Ehud left the palace with the men who had carried the gift...When Ehud reached the statues near Gilgal, he turned and went back to King Eglon and said, “King, I have a secret message for you.”...The king told him to be quiet and then sent all the servants out of the room...Ehud went to King Eglon...The king was sitting all alone in the upper room of his palace...Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.”...The king stood up from his throne...He was very close to Ehud...As the king was getting up from his throne, Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right thigh...Then he pushed the sword into the king’s belly...The sword went into Eglon’s belly so far that even the handle sank in and the fat closed around it...The point of the blade came out his back...Ehud left the sword inside Eglon...Then Ehud went out of the private room, closed the doors to the upper room, and locked the king inside...Ehud then left the main room, and the servants went back in...The servants found the doors to the upper room locked, so they said, “The king must be relieving himself in his private toilet.”...The servants waited for a long time, but the king never opened the doors to the upper room...Finally, the servants got worried...They got the key and unlocked the doors...When the servants entered, they saw their king lying dead on the floor...While the servants were waiting for the king, Ehud had time to escape...He passed by the statues and went toward the place named Seirah...When Ehud came to Seirah, he blew a trumpet there in the hill country of Ephraim...The Israelites heard the trumpet and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them...He said to the Israelites, “Follow me!...The LORD has helped us defeat our enemies, the Moabites.”...So the Israelites followed Ehud...They went down with him to take control of the places where people could easily cross the Jordan River into the land of Moab...The Israelites did not allow any one to go across the Jordan River...They killed about 10,000 strong and brave men from Moab...Not one Moabite man escaped...So on that day the Israelites began to rule over the Moabites, and there was peace in the land for 80 years...
After Ehud saved the Israelites, another man saved Israel...That man’s name was Shamgar son of Anath...Shamgar was Israel's third judge...Shamgar used an ox goad to kill 600 Philistine men....