Idolatry Leads to Servitude

3 ^(A)Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not ^[a]experienced any of the wars of Canaan; ² only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might ^[b]be taught war, ^[c]those who had not ^[d]experienced it formerly). ³ These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and ^(B)the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as ^[e]Lebo-hamath. ⁴ They were for ^[f](C)testing Israel, to find out if they would ^[g]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers ^[h]through Moses. ^5 (D)The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; ⁶ and ^(E)they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

⁷ The sons of Israel did ^(F)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(G)forgot the Lord their God and ^(H)served the Baals and the ^[i]Asheroth. ⁸ Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of ^[j]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

The First Judge Delivers Israel

⁹ When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, ^(I)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ^10 (J)The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of ^[k]Mesopotamia into his hand, so that ^[l]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹² Now the sons of Israel again ^(K)did evil in the sight of the Lord. So ^(L)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 to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and ^[m]defeated Israel, and they possessed ^(M)the city of the palm trees. ¹⁴ The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Ehud Delivers from Moab

¹⁵ But when the sons of Israel ^(N)cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by ^[n]him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶ Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. ¹⁷ He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. ¹⁹ But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. ²⁰ Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. ²¹ Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. ²² The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. ²³ Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

²⁴ When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “^(O)He is only ^[o]relieving himself in the cool room.” ²⁵ They waited until they ^[p]became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the ^[q]floor dead.

²⁶ Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ It came about when he had arrived, that ^(P)he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. ²⁸ He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized ^(Q)the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. ²⁹ They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. ³⁰ So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.

Shamgar Delivers from Philistines

³¹ After him came ^(R)Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

Precepts and Warnings

Avoid Israel’s Mistakes

10 For ^(A)I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all ^(B)under the cloud and all ^(C)passed through the sea; ² and all were ^(D)baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; ³ and all ^(E)ate the same spiritual food; ⁴ and all ^(F)drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was ^[a]Christ. ⁵ Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for ^(G)they were laid low in the wilderness.

⁶ Now these things happened as ^(H)examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as ^(I)they also craved. ⁷ Do not be ^(J)idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “^(K)The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to ^(L)play.” ⁸ Nor let us act immorally, as ^(M)some of them ^[b]did, and ^(N)twenty-three thousand fell in one day. ⁹ Nor let us try the Lord, as ^(O)some of them ^[c]did, and were destroyed by the serpents. ¹⁰ Nor ^(P)grumble, as some of them ^[d]did, and ^(Q)were destroyed by the ^(R)destroyer. ¹¹ Now these things happened to them as an ^(S)example, and ^(T)they were written for our instruction, upon whom ^(U)the ends of the ages have come. ¹² Therefore let him who ^(V)thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and ^(W)God is faithful, who will not allow you to be ^(X)tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

¹⁴ Therefore, my ^(Y)beloved, flee from ^(Z)idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. ¹⁶ Is not the ^(AA)cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the ^[e](AB)bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Since there is one ^[f]bread, we ^(AC)who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one ^[g]bread. ¹⁸ Look at ^[h]the nation ^(AD)Israel; are not those who ^(AE)eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? ¹⁹ What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or ^(AF)that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they ^(AG)sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. ^21 (AH)You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and ^(AI)the table of demons. ²² Or do we ^(AJ)provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not ^(AK)stronger than He, are we?

^23 (AL)All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things ^(AM)edify. ²⁴ Let no one ^(AN)seek his own good, but that of his ^[i]neighbor. ^25 (AO)Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake; ^26 (AP)for the earth is the Lord’s, and ^[j]all it contains. ²⁷ If ^(AQ)one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, ^(AR)eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake. ²⁸ But ^(AS)if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; ²⁹ I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for ^(AT)why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, ^(AU)why am I slandered concerning that for which I ^(AV)give thanks?

³¹ Whether, then, you eat or drink or ^(AW)whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ^32 (AX)Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to ^(AY)the church of God; ³³ just as I also ^(AZ)please all men in all things, ^(BA)not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, ^(BB)so that they may be saved.