Judges 1:1-3:30
Contemporary English Version
The Tribes of Judah and Simeon Fight the Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which of our tribes should attack the Canaanites first?”
2 “Judah!” the Lord answered. “I'll help them take the land.”
3 The people of Judah went to their relatives, the Simeon tribe, and said, “Canaanites live in the land God gave us. Help us fight them, and we will help you.”
Troops from Simeon came to help Judah. 4-5 Together they attacked an army of 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek, and the Lord helped Judah defeat them. During the battle, Judah's army found out where the king of Bezek[a] was, and they attacked there. 6 The king tried to escape, but soldiers from Judah caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes, 7 and he said, “I've cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings and made those kings crawl around under my table for scraps of food. Now God is paying me back.”
The army of Judah took the king of Bezek along with them to Jerusalem, where he died. 8 They attacked Jerusalem,[b] captured it, killed everyone who lived there, and then burned it to the ground.
9 Judah's army fought the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, the Southern Desert, and the foothills to the west. 10 After that, they attacked the Canaanites who lived at Hebron, defeating the three clans called[c] Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. At that time, Hebron was called Kiriath-Arba.
11 From Hebron, Judah's army went to attack Debir, which at that time was called Kiriath-Sepher. 12 Caleb[d] told his troops, “The man who captures Kiriath-Sepher can marry my daughter Achsah.”
13 Caleb's nephew Othniel captured Kiriath-Sepher, so Caleb let him marry Achsah. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.[e] 14 Right after the wedding, Achsah started telling Othniel that he[f] ought to ask her father for a field. She went to see her father, and while she was getting down from[g] her donkey, Caleb asked, “What's bothering you?”
15 She answered, “I need your help. The land you gave me is in the Southern Desert, so please give me some spring-fed ponds for a water supply.”
Caleb gave her a couple of small ponds named Higher Pond and Lower Pond.[h]
16 The people who belonged to the Kenite clan were the descendants of the father-in-law of Moses. They left Jericho[i] with the people of Judah and settled near Arad in the Southern Desert of Judah not far from the Amalekites.[j]
17 Judah's army helped Simeon's army attack the Canaanites who lived at Zephath. They completely destroyed[k] the town and renamed it Hormah.[l]
18-19 The Lord helped the army of Judah capture Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the land near those towns. They also took the hill country. But the people who lived in the valleys had iron chariots, so Judah was not able to make them leave or to take their land.
20 (A) The tribe of Judah gave the town of Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had told them to do. Caleb defeated the three Anakim[m] clans[n] and took over the town.
The Benjamin Tribe Does Not Capture Jerusalem
21 (B) The Jebusites were living in Jerusalem, and the Benjamin tribe did not defeat them or capture the town. That's why Jebusites still live in Jerusalem along with the people of Benjamin.
The Ephraim and Manasseh Tribes Capture Bethel
22-23 The Ephraim and Manasseh tribes[o] were getting ready to attack Bethel, which at that time was called Luz. And the Lord helped them when they sent spies to find out as much as they could about Bethel. 24 While the spies were watching the town, a man came out, and they told him, “If you show us how our army can get into the town,[p] we will make sure that you aren't harmed.” 25 The man showed them, and the two Israelite tribes attacked Bethel, killing everyone except the man and his family. The two tribes made the man and his family leave, 26 so they went to the land of the Hittites,[q] where he built a town. He named the town Luz, and that is still its name.
Israel Does Not Get Rid of All the Canaanites
27-28 (C) Canaanites lived in the towns of Beth-Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all the villages nearby. The Canaanites were determined to stay, and the Manasseh tribe never did get rid of them. But later on, when the Israelites grew more powerful, they made slaves of the Canaanites.
29 (D) The Ephraim tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived there with Israelites all around them.
30 The Zebulun tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Kitron and Nahalol, and the Canaanites stayed there with Israelites around them. But the people of Zebulun did force the Canaanites into slave labor.
31-32 The Asher tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob, and the Asher tribe lived with Canaanites all around them.
33 The Naphtali tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Beth-Shemesh and Beth-Anath, but they did force the Canaanites into slave labor. The Naphtali tribe lived with Canaanites around them.
34 The Amorites[r] were strong enough to keep the tribe of Dan from settling in the valleys, so Dan had to stay in the hill country.
35 The Amorites on Mount Heres and in Aijalon and Shaalbim were also determined to stay. Later on, as Ephraim and Manasseh grew more powerful, they forced those Amorites into slave labor.
The Amorite-Edomite Border
36 The old Amorite-Edomite border used to go from Sela through Scorpion Pass[s] into the hill country.[t]
The Lord's Angel Speaks to Israel
2 The Lord's angel went from Gilgal to Bochim[u] and gave the Israelites this message from the Lord:
I promised your ancestors that I would give this land to their families, and I brought your people here from Egypt. We made an agreement that I promised never to break, 2 (E) and you promised not to make any peace treaties with the other nations that live in the land. Besides that, you agreed to tear down the altars where they sacrifice to their idols. Why haven't you kept your promise?
3 And so, I'll stop helping you defeat your enemies. Instead, they will be there to trap[v] you into worshiping their idols.
4 The Israelites started crying loudly, 5 and they offered sacrifices to the Lord. From then on, they called that place “Crying.”[w]
Israel Stops Worshiping the Lord
6-9 (F) Joshua had been faithful to the Lord. And after Joshua sent the Israelites to take the land they had been promised, they remained faithful to the Lord until Joshua died at the age of 110. He was buried on his land in Timnath-Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. Even though Joshua was gone, the Israelites were faithful to the Lord during the lifetime of those men who had been leaders with Joshua and who had seen the wonderful things the Lord had done for Israel.
10 After a while the people of Joshua's generation died, and the next generation did not know the Lord or any of the things he had done for Israel. 11-13 The Lord had brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they had worshiped him. But now the Israelites stopped worshiping the Lord and worshiped the idols of Baal and Astarte, as well as the idols of other gods from nearby nations.
The Lord was so angry 14-15 with the Israelites that he let other nations raid Israel and steal their crops and other possessions. Enemies were everywhere, and the Lord always let them defeat Israel in battle. The Lord had warned Israel he would do this, and now the Israelites were miserable.
The Lord Chooses Leaders for Israel
16 From time to time, the Lord would choose special leaders known as judges.[x] These judges would lead the Israelites into battle and defeat the enemies that made raids on them. 17 In years gone by, the Israelites had been faithful to the Lord, but now they were quick to be unfaithful and to refuse even to listen to these judges. The Israelites disobeyed the Lord, and instead of worshiping him, they worshiped other gods.
18 When enemies made life miserable for the Israelites, the Lord felt sorry for them. He would choose a judge and help that judge rescue Israel from its enemies. The Lord was kind to Israel as long as that judge lived. 19 But afterwards, the Israelites would become even more sinful than their ancestors had been. The Israelites were stubborn—they simply would not stop worshiping other gods or following their teachings.
The Lord Lets Enemies Test Israel
20 The Lord was angry with Israel and said:
The Israelites have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They won't obey me, 21 so I'll stop helping them defeat their enemies. Israel still had a lot of enemies when Joshua died, 22 and I'm going to let those enemies stay. I'll use them to test Israel, because then I can find out if Israel will worship and obey me as their ancestors did.
23 That's why the Lord had not let Joshua get rid of those enemy nations all at once.
3 1-2 And 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 3 the 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.[y]
4 Moses 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. 5-6 But 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
7 The Israelites sinned against the Lord by forgetting him and worshiping idols of Baal and Astarte. 8 This made the Lord angry, so he let Israel be defeated by King Cushan Rishathaim of northern Syria,[z] who ruled Israel eight years and made everyone pay taxes. 9 The Israelites begged the Lord for help, and so he chose Othniel to rescue them. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.[aa] 10 The Spirit of the Lord took control of Othniel, and he led Israel in a war against Cushan Rishathaim. The Lord let Othniel win, 11 and Israel was at peace until Othniel died about 40 years later.
Ehud
12 Once more the Israelites started disobeying the Lord. So he let them be defeated by King Eglon of Moab, 13 who had joined forces with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to attack Israel. Eglon and his army captured Jericho.[ab] 14 Then he ruled Israel for 18 years and forced the Israelites to pay heavy taxes.
15-16 The Israelites begged the Lord for help, and the Lord chose Ehud[ac] 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.
17-18 Ehud 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.
19-20 Ehud went with the other Israelites as far as the statues[ad] at Gilgal.[ae] Then he turned back and went upstairs to the room[af] 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!” 21 Ehud pulled out the dagger with his left hand and shoved it so far into Eglon's stomach 22-23 that 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[ag] 24 and left.
When the king's officials came back and saw that the doors were locked, they said, “The king is probably inside relieving himself.” 25 They 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. 26 But by that time, Ehud had already escaped past the statues.[ah]
Ehud went to the town of Seirah 27-28 in 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, 29 and before the fighting was over, they killed about 10,000 Moabite warriors—not one escaped alive.
30 Moab 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.
Footnotes
- 1.4,5 king of Bezek: Or “Adoni-Bezek.”
- 1.8 Jerusalem: This probably refers to towns and villages belonging to Jerusalem but lying in Judah's territory south of the city wall. Jerusalem itself was just inside Benjamin's territory, but was not captured by Israel at this time (see verse 21; Joshua 15.5-9; 18.15-18).
- 1.10 clans called: Or “warriors.”
- 1.12 Caleb: One of the leaders of Judah; see Joshua 14.6-14 and Numbers 13.6,30; 14.6,10, 20-24. For verses 12-15, see Joshua 15.13-19.
- 1.13 Othniel was the son of … Kenaz: Or “Othniel and Caleb both belonged to the Kenaz clan, but Othniel was younger than Caleb.”
- 1.14 Achsah … Othniel … he: Hebrew; two ancient translations “Othniel … Achsah … she.”
- 1.14 getting down from: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 1.15 spring-fed ponds … small ponds … Higher Pond and Lower Pond: Or “wells … wells … Higher Well and Lower Well.”
- 1.16 Jericho: The Hebrew text has “Town of Palm Trees,” another name for Jericho.
- 1.16 not far … Amalekites: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 1.17 completely destroyed: The Hebrew word means that the town was given completely to the Lord, and since it could not be used for normal purposes anymore, it had to be destroyed.
- 1.17 Hormah: In Hebrew “Hormah” sounds like “completely destroyed.”
- 1.20 Anakim: Perhaps a group of very tall people that lived in Palestine before the Israelites (see Numbers 13.33 and Deuteronomy 2.10,11, 20,21).
- 1.20 clans: See the note at 1.10.
- 1.22,23 The Ephraim and Manasseh tribes: The Hebrew text has “The Joseph family,” which was divided into these two tribes named after Joseph's sons.
- 1.24 If you … town: Sometimes there were small doors in the town wall that could be opened from the inside even when the main town gates were shut and locked.
- 1.26 land of the Hittites: The Hittites had an empire centered in what is now Turkey. At one time their empire reached south into Syria, north of Israel.
- 1.34 Amorites: Used in the general sense of nations that lived in Canaan before the Israelites.
- 1.36 Scorpion Pass: Or “Akrabbim Pass.”
- 1.36 country: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.
- 2.1 Bochim: In Hebrew “Bochim” means “crying” (see verse 5).
- 2.3 trap: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 2.5 Crying: Or “Bochim.”
- 2.16 special leaders known as judges: The Hebrew text has “judges.” In addition to leading Israelites in battle, these special leaders also decided legal cases and sometimes performed religious duties.
- 3.3 Hamath Pass: Or “Lebo-Hamath.”
- 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).
- 3.9 Othniel was the son of … Kenaz: See the note at 1.13.
- 3.13 Jericho: See the note at 1.16.
- 3.15,16 Ehud: Hebrew “Ehud the son of Gera.”
- 3.19,20 statues: Or “stone idols” or “stone monuments.”
- 3.19,20 Gilgal: About two and a half kilometers from Jericho, where Eglon probably was (see verse 13).
- 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.
- 3.22,23 he climbed … porch: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 3.26 statues: See the note at 3.19,20.
Judges 1:1-3:30
Jubilee Bible 2000
1 ¶ Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the sons of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first to fight against them?
2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hands.
3 And Judah said unto Simeon, his brother, Come up with me into my lot that we may fight against the Canaanite; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.
4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hands, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
6 But Adonibezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
7 And Adonibezek said, Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered crumbs under my table; as I have done, so God has recompensed me. And they put him into Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 Now the sons of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
9 ¶ And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanite that dwelt in the mountains and in the Negev and in the plains.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba), and they slew Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher).
12 And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjathsepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13 And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
14 And it came to pass when he took her that he persuaded her to ask her father for land to cultivate. And she lighted from off her ass, and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing, for thou hast given me a dry land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 And the sons of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the sons of Judah into the wilderness of Judah which is towards the Negev of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanite that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with its border and Askelon with its border and Ekron with its border.
19 And the LORD was with Judah, who drove out the inhabitants of the mountains, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains, because they had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb as Moses had said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.
21 ¶ And the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; thus the Jebusites dwell with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
22 And also those of the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
23 And those of the house of Joseph put spies in Bethel (Now the name of the city before was Luz).
24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy.
25 And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man go and all his family.
26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and called the name of it Luz, which is its name unto this day.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and its towns nor Taanach and its towns nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanite desired to dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong that they put the Canaanites under tribute but did not utterly drive them out.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanite that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanite dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanite dwelt among them and became tributaries.
31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho nor the inhabitants of Zidon nor of Ahlab nor of Achzib nor of Helbah nor of Aphik nor of Rehob;
32 to the contrary Asher dwelt among the Canaanites that inhabited the land, for they did not drive them out.
33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh nor the inhabitants of Bethanath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites that inhabited the land; nevertheless, the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.
34 And the Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the mountain, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.
35 And the Amorites desired to dwell in Mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; yet when the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, they made them tributaries.
36 And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent to Akrabbim from the rock and upward.
2 ¶ And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, I brought you up out of Egypt and caused you to enter into the land which I swore unto your fathers, and I said, I will never break my covenant with you
2 as long as ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; to the contrary, ye shall throw down their altars, but ye have not heard my voice; why have ye done this?
3 Therefore, I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4 And when the angel of the LORD spoke these words unto all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
5 And they called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
6 ¶ For Joshua had let the people go, and the sons of Israel had each gone unto his inheritance to possess the land.
7 And the people had served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the LORD that he had done with Israel.
8 And Joshua, the son of Nun, the slave of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
9 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres in the mount of Ephraim on the north side of the mount of Gaash.
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them which did not know the LORD nor the work which he had done to Israel.
11 And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baalim.
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them and provoked the LORD to anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.
15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said and as the LORD had sworn unto them; and thus they were greatly distressed.
16 Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they fornicated after other gods and bowed themselves unto them; they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers had walked hearing the commandments of the LORD; but they did not do so.
18 And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of that judge; for the LORD repented because of their groanings by reason of those that oppressed them and afflicted them.
19 But when the judge was dead, then they would return, and corrupt themselves more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them and to bow down unto them; they did not diminish from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.
20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he said, Because these people transgress my covenant which I commanded their fathers and do not hearken unto my voice;
21 neither will I drive out any longer from before them any of these Gentiles which Joshua left when he died,
22 that through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD by walking therein as their fathers kept it, or not.
23 Therefore, the LORD left those Gentiles, without driving them out hastily; neither did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
3 ¶ Now these are the Gentiles which the LORD left, to prove Israel with them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2 he left them only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, and to teach them war, only for those that had known nothing before:
3 namely, five cardinals of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.
4 These, therefore, were left to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 And as the sons of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
6 they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons and served their gods.
7 And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baalim and the groves.
8 ¶ Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia, and the sons of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.
9 And when the sons of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a saviour to the sons of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war; and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.
12 ¶ And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
13 And he gathered unto him the sons of Ammon and of Amalek and went and smote Israel and took the city of palm trees.
14 So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 But when the sons of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a saviour, Ehud, the son of Gera, a son of Jemini, {Benjamin} a man, who had his right hand impeded, and by him the sons of Israel sent a present unto Eglon, the king of Moab.
16 But Ehud had made himself a two-edged sword of a cubit length, and he girded it under his clothing upon his right thigh.
17 And he brought the present unto Eglon, king of Moab, and Eglon was a very fat man.
18 And when he had offered the present, he sent away the people that had brought the present.
19 But he, himself turned again from the graven images that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret word for thee, O king, who then said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
20 And Ehud came unto him, and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a word from God unto thee. Then he arose out of his seat.
21 But Ehud put forth his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into Eglon’s belly;
22 in such a manner that the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat closed upon the blade so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly, and the excrement came out.
23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlour upon him and locked them.
24 When he was gone out, his slaves came; and when they saw that the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Peradventure he covers his feet in his summer chamber.
25 And having waited until they were confounded and he had not opened the doors of the parlour; therefore, they took a key and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
26 But while they had waited, Ehud escaped and passed beyond the graven images and escaped unto Seirath.
27 And as he entered in, he blew the shofar in the mountain of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
28 Then he said unto them, Follow after me, for the LORD has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands. And they went down after him and took the fords of the Jordan towards Moab and did not let anyone pass.
29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all fat, and all men of war, and there escaped not a man.
30 So Moab was subjected that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.
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