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Judges 1-3
New American Standard Bible 1995

Jerusalem Is Captured

1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel (A)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us (B)against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “(C)Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into [a]the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and [b]I in turn will go with you into [c]the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and (D)the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they [d]defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they [e]defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his [f]thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; (E)as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah fought against (F)Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the [g]Negev and in the lowland. 10 (G)So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

Capture of Other Cities

11 Then (H)from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife.” 13 (I)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. 14 Then (J)it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from [h]her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [i]do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the [j]Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 The [k]descendants of (K)the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the (L)city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of (M)Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called (N)Hormah. 18 And Judah took (O)Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not [l]drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had (P)iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, (Q)as Moses had [m]promised; and he drove out from there (R)the three sons of Anak. 21 (S)But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the (T)Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph spied out Bethel ((U)now the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city and (V)we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, (W)but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz [n]which is its name to this day.

Places Not Conquered

27 (X)But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so (Y)the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. 28 It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

29 (Z)Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of [o]Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites [p]forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 yet the Amorites persisted in [q]living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the [r]power of the house of Joseph [s]grew strong, they became forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the (AA)ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Israel Rebuked

2 Now (AB)the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to (AC)Bochim. And he said, “(AD)I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘(AE)I will never break My covenant with you, 2 and as for you, (AF)you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (AG)you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not [t]obeyed Me; what is this you have done? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘(AH)I will not drive them out before you; but they will [u]become (AI)as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place [v]Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.

Joshua Dies

6 (AJ)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who [w]survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the territory of (AK)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who (AL)did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves Baals

11 Then the sons of Israel did (AM)evil in the sight of the Lord and [x]served the (AN)Baals, 12 and (AO)they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 So they forsook the Lord and (AP)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 (AQ)The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and (AR)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and (AS)as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

16 (AT)Then the Lord raised up judges [y]who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way (AU)in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, (AV)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was (AW)moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 (AX)So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, 21 (AY)I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to (AZ)test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers [z]did, or not.” 23 So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

3 (BA)Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not [aa]experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might [ab]be taught war, [ac]those who had not [ad]experienced it formerly). 3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and (BB)the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [ae]Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for [af](BC)testing Israel, to find out if they would [ag]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers [ah]through Moses. 5 (BD)The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and (BE)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 (BF)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and (BG)forgot the Lord their God and (BH)served the Baals and the [ai]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 [aj]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, (BI)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 (BJ)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 [ak]Mesopotamia into his hand, so that [al]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 (BK)did evil in the sight of the Lord. So (BL)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 [am]defeated Israel, and they possessed (BM)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 (BN)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 [an]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, “(BO)He is only [ao]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited until they [ap]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 [aq]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 (BP)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 (BQ)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 (BR)Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:3 Lit my lot
  2. Judges 1:3 Lit I, even I
  3. Judges 1:3 Lit your lot
  4. Judges 1:4 Lit smote them
  5. Judges 1:5 Lit smote
  6. Judges 1:6 Lit thumbs of his hands and his feet
  7. Judges 1:9 I.e. South country
  8. Judges 1:14 Lit the
  9. Judges 1:14 Lit for yourself
  10. Judges 1:15 I.e. South country
  11. Judges 1:16 Lit sons
  12. Judges 1:19 Or dispossess
  13. Judges 1:20 Lit spoken
  14. Judges 1:26 Lit it
  15. Judges 1:30 Perhaps same as Nahalal
  16. Judges 1:34 Lit pressed
  17. Judges 1:35 Lit dwelling
  18. Judges 1:35 Lit hand
  19. Judges 1:35 Lit was heavy
  20. Judges 2:2 Lit listened to My voice
  21. Judges 2:3 Some ancient mss read be adversaries, and
  22. Judges 2:5 I.e. weepers
  23. Judges 2:7 Lit prolonged days after
  24. Judges 2:11 Or worshiped
  25. Judges 2:16 Lit and they
  26. Judges 2:22 Lit kept
  27. Judges 3:1 Lit known
  28. Judges 3:2 Lit know, to teach them
  29. Judges 3:2 Lit only
  30. Judges 3:2 Lit known
  31. Judges 3:3 Or the entrance of Hamath
  32. Judges 3:4 Lit testing by them
  33. Judges 3:4 Lit hear
  34. Judges 3:4 Lit by the hand of
  35. Judges 3:7 I.e. wooden symbol of a female deity
  36. Judges 3:8 Heb Aram-naharaim
  37. Judges 3:10 Heb Aram
  38. Judges 3:10 Lit his hand was strong
  39. Judges 3:13 Lit smote
  40. Judges 3:15 Lit his hand
  41. Judges 3:24 Lit covering his feet
  42. Judges 3:25 Lit were ashamed
  43. Judges 3:25 Lit earth
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Judges 1-3
New International Version

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)

1 After the death(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight against the Canaanites?(D)”

2 The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)”

3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(G) went with them.

4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(L) and he died there.

8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

9 After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(N) the Negev(O) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(R) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(T)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(U) the Kenite,(V) went up from the City of Palms[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(X)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d](Z) 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza,(AA) Ashkelon(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(AE) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(AG) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(AJ) attacked Bethel,(AK) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(AL) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(AM)” 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(AN) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,(AP) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(AR) or Ibleam(AS) or Megiddo(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(AU) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AV) 29 Nor did Ephraim(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(AY) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib(BB) or Helbah or Aphek(BC) or Rehob.(BD) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(BE) or Beth Anath(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(BG) confined the Danites(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(BI) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(BJ) Aijalon(BK) and Shaalbim,(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(BM) to Sela(BN) and beyond.(BO)

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord(BP) went up from Gilgal(BQ) to Bokim(BR) and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt(BS) and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors.(BT) I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you,(BU) 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land,(BV) but you shall break down their altars.(BW)’ Yet you have disobeyed(BX) me. Why have you done this? 3 And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you;(BY) they will become traps(BZ) for you, and their gods will become snares(CA) to you.’”

4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud,(CB) 5 and they called that place Bokim.[f](CC) There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Disobedience and Defeat(CD)

6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.(CE)

8 Joshua son of Nun,(CF) the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres[g](CG) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.(CH) 11 Then the Israelites did evil(CI) in the eyes of the Lord(CJ) and served the Baals.(CK) 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods(CL) of the peoples around them.(CM) They aroused(CN) the Lord’s anger(CO) 13 because they forsook(CP) him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.(CQ) 14 In his anger(CR) against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands(CS) of raiders who plundered(CT) them. He sold them(CU) into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.(CV) 15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them(CW) to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.(CX)

16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[h](CY) who saved(CZ) them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted(DA) themselves to other gods(DB) and worshiped them.(DC) They quickly turned(DD) from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands.(DE) 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved(DF) them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented(DG) because of their groaning(DH) under those who oppressed and afflicted(DI) them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt(DJ) than those of their ancestors,(DK) following other gods and serving and worshiping them.(DL) They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn(DM) ways.

20 Therefore the Lord was very angry(DN) with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant(DO) I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out(DP) before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test(DQ) Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.(DR)

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test(DS) 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(DT) rulers of the Philistines,(DU) all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites(DV) living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon(DW) to Lebo Hamath.(DX) 4 They were left to test(DY) the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

5 The Israelites lived(DZ) among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,(EA) Hivites and Jebusites.(EB) 6 They took their daughters(EC) in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.(ED)

Othniel

7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord(EE) their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.(EF) 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold(EG) them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim(EH) king of Aram Naharaim,[i](EI) to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out(EJ) to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,(EK) Othniel(EL) son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him,(EM) so that he became Israel’s judge[j] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim(EN) king of Aram(EO) into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace(EP) for forty years,(EQ) until Othniel son of Kenaz(ER) died.

Ehud

12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,(ES) and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab(ET) power over Israel. 13 Getting the Ammonites(EU) and Amalekites(EV) to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[k](EW) 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab(EX) for eighteen years.

15 Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer(EY)—Ehud(EZ), a left-handed(FA) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute(FB) to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud(FC) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[l] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute(FD) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.(FE) 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[m](FF) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose(FG) from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword(FH) 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[n]; 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(FI) in the inner room of the palace.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment,(FJ) 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(FK) 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,(FL) your enemy, into your hands.(FM)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan(FN) 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(FO) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace(FP) for eighty years.

Shamgar

31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath,(FQ) who struck down six hundred(FR) Philistines(FS) with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take
  6. Judges 2:5 Bokim means weepers.
  7. Judges 2:9 Also known as Timnath Serah (see Joshua 19:50 and 24:30)
  8. Judges 2:16 Or leaders; similarly in verses 17-19
  9. Judges 3:8 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  10. Judges 3:10 Or leader
  11. Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
  12. Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
  13. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
  14. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
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Joshua 24
Judges 4
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