12 Now the sons of Israel again (A)did evil in the sight of the Lord. So (B)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 [a]defeated Israel, and they took possession of (C)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 (D)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 [b]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 [c]the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the [d]vestibule, and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When he had left, [e]the king’s servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(E)Undoubtedly he is [f]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 So they waited [g]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 [h]floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were hesitating, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 And [i]when he arrived, (F)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 [j]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 (G)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.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:13 Lit struck
  2. Judges 3:15 Lit his hand
  3. Judges 3:22 Meaning of the Heb uncertain, but perhaps excrement
  4. Judges 3:23 Meaning uncertain
  5. Judges 3:24 Lit his
  6. Judges 3:24 Lit covering his feet; a euphemism referring to a squatting position
  7. Judges 3:25 Lit until shaming
  8. Judges 3:25 Lit earth
  9. Judges 3:27 Lit it happened
  10. Judges 3:27 Lit before them

Ehud

12 (A)And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon (B)the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the (C)Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of (D)the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15 Then the people of Israel (E)cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them (F)a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, (G)a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit[a] in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back (H)at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his (I)cool roof chamber. (J)And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch[b] and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him (K)and locked them.

24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, (L)“Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond (M)the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, (N)he sounded the trumpet in (O)the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, (P)for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized (Q)the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. (R)And the land had rest for eighty years.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:16 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  2. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain