Judges 3
Expanded Bible
3 These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not ·fought in [experienced; known] the wars of Canaan. 2 (The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites who had not fought in those wars how to fight.) 3 These are the nations: the five ·rulers [lords] 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. 4 Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites—to see if they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors by [L the hand of] Moses.
5 The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6 The Israelites ·began to marry [L took as wives] the daughters of those people, and they ·allowed their daughters to marry [L gave their daughters to] the sons of those people. Israel also served their gods.
Othniel, the First Judge
7 The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the ·idols of Baal [L Baals; 2:11] and ·Asherah [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah; Deut. 16:21; Judg. 6:25]. 8 So the Lord ·was angry with [L burned in anger against] Israel and allowed ·Cushan-Rishathaim [or Cushan, the Doubly Wicked] king of ·northwest Mesopotamia [or Aram Naharaim; C Naharaim means “two rivers,” referring to Mesopotamia] to rule over the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] for eight years. 9 When Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord ·sent someone to save them [L raised up a deliverer]. Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, saved the Israelites. 10 The Spirit of the Lord ·entered [enpowered; came upon; was upon] Othniel, and he became Israel’s ·judge [leader; 2:16]. When he went to war, the Lord ·handed over to him [L gave into his hand] ·Cushan-Rishathaim [or Cushan, the Doubly Wicked; v. 8] king of ·northwest Mesopotamia [or Aram Naharaim; v. 8]. 11 So the land was at ·peace [rest] for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud, the Judge
12 Again the ·people [L sons/T children] of Israel did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel because of the evil Israel did. 13 Eglon got the ·Ammonites and the Amalekites [L sons/descendants of Ammon and Amalek] to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took the city of palm trees [C Jericho]. 14 So the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel were ·ruled by [subject to] Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15 When the people cried to the Lord, he ·sent someone to save [L raised up a rescuer/T deliverer for] them. He was Ehud, son of Gera from the people of Benjamin, who was ·left-handed [L bound in the right hand]. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the ·payment [tribute money] he demanded. 16 Ehud made himself a sword with two edges, ·about eighteen inches [L a cubit; C the distance between the elbow and the tip of the fingers] long, and he tied it to his right hip under his clothes. 17 Ehud gave Eglon king of Moab the ·payment [tribute money] he demanded. Now Eglon was a very fat man [C Eglon means “fat calf”]. 18 After he had given Eglon the ·payment [tribute money], Ehud ·sent away [dismissed] the people who had carried it. 19 When he passed the ·statues [images; idols] near Gilgal, he turned around [C Ehud returned to Eglon’s palace and sought a private audience with the king] and said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.”
The king said, “·Be quiet [Silence; or Give us privacy]!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room. 20 Ehud went to King Eglon, as he was sitting alone in the ·room above his summer palace [L cool upper room; C probably a breezy roof-top room with lattice windows; perhaps a bathroom].
Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair [C perhaps an act of reverence to receive the divine oracle], 21 Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right hip [C the unusual location on the right allowed concealment and caught the king by surprise]. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly! 22 Even the handle sank in, and ·the blade came out his back [or his bowels discharged]. The king’s fat covered the whole sword, so Ehud left the sword in Eglon. 23 Then he went out ·of the room [or to the porch/vestibule; or through the latrine] and closed and locked the doors behind him.
24 When the servants returned just after Ehud left, they found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was ·relieving himself [L covering his feet; C a euphemism]. 25 They waited for a long time. Finally they became ·worried [anxious; or embarrassed] because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them and ·saw [L look; T behold] their king lying dead on the floor!
26 While the servants were waiting, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the ·statues [idols; images] and went to Seirah. 27 When he reached the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim he blew the trumpet. The ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.
28 He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has ·helped you to defeat [L given into your hand] your enemies, the Moabites.” So Israel followed Ehud and captured the ·crossings [fords] of the Jordan River ·across from [or against] Moab. They did not allow the Moabites to cross the Jordan River. 29 Israel killed about ten thousand strong and able men from Moab; not one escaped. 30 So that day Moab was ·forced to be under the rule of Israel [L subdued/made subject that day under the hand of Israel], and there was ·peace [rest] in the land for eighty years.
Shamgar, the Judge
31 After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath saved Israel. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with ·a sharp stick used to guide oxen [an oxgoad].
Judges 3
New American Standard Bible
Idolatry Leads to Servitude
3 (A)Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all the Israelites 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 previously). 3 These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and (B)the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [e]Lebo-hamath. 4 They were left to (C)test Israel by them, to find out if they would [f]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers [g]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 So the sons of Israel did (F)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (G)forgot the Lord their God and (H)served the Baals and the [h]Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of [i]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.
The First Judge Frees Israel
9 But the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to set them free, (I)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 And (J)the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-rishathaim king of [j]Mesopotamia, so that [k]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land was at rest for 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 [l]defeated Israel, and they took possession of (M)the city of the palm trees. 14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.
Ehud Kills Eglon
15 But when the sons of Israel (N)cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by [m]him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he strapped it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 Then he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And it came about, when he had finished presenting the tribute, that Ehud 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 the king said, “Silence!” And all who were attending him left him. 20 Then Ehud came to him while he was sitting in his cool roof chamber alone. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he got up from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached out with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 The hilt of the sword also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and [n]the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the [o]vestibule, and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.
24 When he had left, [p]the king’s servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(O)Undoubtedly he is [q]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 So they waited [r]until it would have been shameful to wait longer; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. So they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [s]floor dead.
26 Now Ehud escaped while they were hesitating, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 And [t]when he arrived, (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 [u]leading them. 28 Then he said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has handed your enemies the Moabites over to you.” So they went down after him and took control of (Q)the crossing places of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 They struck and killed about ten thousand Moabites at that time, 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 at rest for eighty years.
Shamgar Saves Israel
31 Now after him came (R)Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck and killed six hundred Philistines with an [v]oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.
Footnotes
- Judges 3:1 Lit known
- Judges 3:2 Lit know, to teach them
- Judges 3:2 Lit only those
- Judges 3:2 Lit known
- Judges 3:3 Or the entrance of Hamath
- Judges 3:4 Lit listen to
- Judges 3:4 Lit by the hand of
- Judges 3:7 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
- Judges 3:8 Heb Aram-naharaim
- Judges 3:10 Heb Aram
- Judges 3:10 Lit his hand was strong
- Judges 3:13 Lit struck
- Judges 3:15 Lit his hand
- Judges 3:22 Meaning of the Heb uncertain, but perhaps excrement
- Judges 3:23 Meaning uncertain
- Judges 3:24 Lit his
- Judges 3:24 Lit covering his feet; a euphemism referring to a squatting position
- Judges 3:25 Lit until shaming
- Judges 3:25 Lit earth
- Judges 3:27 Lit it happened
- Judges 3:27 Lit before them
- Judges 3:31 I.e., a spiked stick for driving livestock
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
