Judges 3:7-11

Amplified Bible

⁷And the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the ^[a]Asheroth.^(A) ⁸So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of ^[b]Mesopotamia; and the Israelites served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

The First Judge Rescues Israel

⁹But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord [for help], the Lord raised up a ^[c]man to rescue the people of Israel, ^[d]Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, and he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹And the land was at rest [from oppression for] forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

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Footnotes

Judges 3:7 Various Canaanite goddesses of fertility and warfare.
Judges 3:8 Heb Aram-naharaim; Aram of Two Rivers.
Judges 3:9 Lit deliverer.
Judges 3:9 Othniel was the first of the twelve people God appointed to rescue and lead Israel. In addition to specific judicial duties, the judges served as both civil and military leaders.