Judges 3

Wycliffe Bible

3 These be the folks which the Lord left alive, that in them he should teach Israel, and all men that knew not the battles of Canaanites; (These be the nations which the Lord left alive, so that through them he would teach the Israelites, all those who had not been part of the battles for Canaan;)

² and that afterward the sons of them should learn to fight with enemies, and to have custom of battle. (and so that through them their sons would learn to fight with their enemies, and know the ways of battle.)

³ He left (alive the) five princes of the Philistines, and all Canaanites, and the people of Sidon, and Hivites that dwelled in the hill Lebanon, from the hill Baalhermon till to the entering of Hamath. (He left alive the five rulers of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the people of Sidon, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baalhermon unto Hamath Pass.)

⁴ And he left them, that in them he should assay Israel, (to see) whether they would hear the behests of the Lord, which he commanded to their fathers by the hand of Moses, either nay. (Yea, he left them alive, so that through them he could test Israel, to see whether they would listen to the Lord’s commands, which he commanded to their fathers through Moses, or not.)

⁵ And so the sons of Israel dwelled in the midst of Canaanites, of Hittites, and of Amorites, and of Perizzites, and of Hivites, and of Jebusites, (And so the Israelites lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,)

⁶ and they wedded wives, the daughters of them; and the sons of Israel gave their daughters to their sons, and they served to their gods (and they served their gods).

⁷ And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat their Lord God, and served Baalim, and Asheroth. (And the Israelites did evil before the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baalim, and the Asheroth.)

⁸ And the Lord was wroth against Israel, and he betook them into the hands of Chushanrishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and they served him eight years.

⁹ And they cried to the Lord, and he raised to them a saviour, and (he) delivered them, that is, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, and the younger brother of Caleb. (And they cried to the Lord, and he raised up a saviour for them, and he delivered them; that was Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.)

¹⁰ And the spirit of the Lord was in him, and he deemed Israel. And he went out to battle, and the Lord betook into his hand Chushanrishathaim, king of Syria (the king of Mesopotamia); and Othniel oppressed him.

¹¹ And the land rested forty years; and (then) Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.

¹² Forsooth the sons of Israel added to do evil in the sight of the Lord (And the Israelites did more evil before the Lord); and he strengthened against them Eglon, the king of Moab, for they did evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹³ And the Lord coupled to him the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went, and smote Israel (and he went, and struck Israel), and had in possession the city of Palms.

¹⁴ And the sons of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, eighteen years. (And the Israelites served Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years.)

¹⁵ And afterward they cried to the Lord; and he raised to them a saviour, Ehud by name, the son of Gera, son of Benjamin, the which Ehud used ever either hand for the right hand. And the sons of Israel sent by him gifts, that is, (the) tribute, to Eglon, king of Moab; (And they cried to the Lord; and he raised up a saviour for them, named Ehud, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, and he used either hand for the right hand. And the Israelites sent him to take the tribute, that is, the taxes, to Eglon, the king of Moab;)

¹⁶ [the] which Ehud made to him(self) a sword carving on ever either side, of the length of the palm of an hand; and he was girded therewith under the say, that is, a knight’s mantle, in the right hip. (and Ehud made for himself a sword sharp on both sides, the length of the palm of a hand; and he was girded with it under his say, that is, under his knight’s mantle, on the right hip.)

¹⁷ And he brought gifts to Eglon, king of Moab; and Eglon was full fat. (And he brought the tribute, or the taxes, to Eglon, the king of Moab; and Eglon was very fat.)

¹⁸ And when he had given gifts to the king, he followed forth after his fellows that came with him; (And when he had given the tribute to the king, he went away with his fellows who had come with him;)

¹⁹ and he turned again from Gilgal, where (the graven) idols were, and he said to the king, O king, I have a privy word to thee (but he turned back at Gilgal, where the carved stones were, and when he had come before the king, he said, O king, I have a private word for thee). And the king commanded silence. And when all men were gone out, that were about him,

²⁰ Ehud entered (un)to him; and the king sat alone in a summer parlour. And Ehud said, I have the word of God to thee (And Ehud said, I have a word from God for thee). The which rose at once from his throne.

²¹ And Ehud held forth his left hand, and took his sword from his right hip; and he put it into the king’s womb so strongly,

²² that the pommel, either hilt, followed the iron in(to) the wound, and was holden strait in the thickest fatness within; and Ehud drew not out the sword, but so as he had smitten Eglon (but as he had so struck Eglon), he left it in his body; and at once by the privates of (man)kind, the turds of the womb burst out.

²³ Forsooth when the doors of the parlour were closed most diligently, and fastened with lock, (And when he had quietly closed the parlour doors, and fastened them with a lock,)

²⁴ Ehud went out by a porch (Ehud went out by the porch). And (soon after) the king’s servants entered, not into the parlour, but into the porch, and they saw the doors of the parlour closed, and they said, In hap he purgeth the womb in the summer parlour.

²⁵ And they abode so long, till they were ashamed; and they saw that no man opened the door, and they took the key, and they opened (it), and they found their lord lying dead on the earth. (And they waited so long for him, that they were embarrassed; and when they saw that no one opened the door, they took the key, and they opened it, and they found their lord lying dead on the floor.)

²⁶ And while they were troubled, Ehud fled out, and passed the place of (the graven) idols, from whence he turned again (and passed the place of the carved stones, where he had turned back); and he came into Seirath.

²⁷ And anon he sounded with a clarion in the hill of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came down with him, and he went in the front. (And at once he sounded with a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came down with him, and he went at the front.)

²⁸ Which said to them, Follow ye me, for the Lord hath betaken our enemies, (the) Moabites, into our hands. And they came down after him, and occupied the fords of (the) Jordan (River), that led over into Moab. And they suffered not any man to pass [over],

²⁹ but they smote in that time about ten thousand Moabites, all mighty men and strong; no man of them might escape. (but they struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all of them strong and mighty men; yea, not one of them could escape.)

³⁰ And Moab was made low in that day under the hand of Israel, and the land rested eighty years. (And Moab was made low on that day under the hand of Israel, and then the land rested for eighty years.)

³¹ After him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, that smote of Philistines six hundred men with a goad of (an) ox (who struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox’s goad); and he also defended Israel.