Judges 3

¹Now these are the nations which the Lord

²(this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),

³namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

⁴And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord

⁵Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

⁶And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.

⁷So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord

⁸Therefore the anger of the Lord

⁹When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord

¹⁰The Spirit of the Lord

¹¹So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹²And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord

¹³Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took possession of the City of Palms.

¹⁴So the children of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵But when the children of Israel cried out to the Lord

¹⁶Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.

¹⁷So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)

¹⁸And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

¹⁹But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.

²⁰So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose from his seat.

²¹Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.

²²Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.

²³Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

²⁴When he had gone out, Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber.”

²⁵So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.

²⁶But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.

²⁷And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.

²⁸Then he said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord

²⁹And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.

³⁰So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.

³¹After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.