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Judges 3

3 The Lord allowed some nations to stay in Canaan. He would use them to test the Israelites who had not yet fought wars in Canaan. ² He wanted to teach the young men of Israel how to fight their enemies, because they had not fought battles before. ³ The nations who remained were:

the Philistines, with their five kings,

all the Canaanites,

the Sidonians,

the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath.

⁴ These nations were still there to test the Israelites. The Lord wanted to know if his people would obey his commands. Those were the commands that he had told Moses to give to the ancestors of the Israelites.

⁵ So the Israelites lived among those other nations, the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁶ Some Israelites married young women from these nations. They also let their daughters marry Canaanite men. As a result, the Israelites started to worship the Canaanite gods. ^{[ a ]}

Othniel

⁷ The Israelites forgot to serve the Lord their God. They did things that he saw were evil. They worshipped idols of Baal and Asherah. ⁸ The Lord was very angry with the Israelites. He let King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim attack them. They were under his power for eight years.

⁹ Then the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. So he chose Othniel to be their leader. He was the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. Othniel rescued them from their enemies. ¹⁰ The Lord 's Spirit gave Othniel power to lead Israel. Othniel led them to fight against King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram. The Lord helped Othniel to win the battle against the king. ¹¹ As a result, the land of Israel had peace for 40 years. Then Kenaz's son Othniel died.

Ehud

¹² Once again the Israelites did things that the Lord saw were evil. Because of this, the Lord gave Eglon, the king of Moab, power over Israel. ¹³ King Eglon made an agreement with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join together to attack Israel. They attacked Jericho, ‘The City of Palm Trees’, and they took it for themselves. ¹⁴ The Israelites were under King Eglon's power for 18 years.

¹⁵ Again the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. He chose Ehud to be their leader. He was the son of Gera, from Benjamin's tribe. Ehud's strong hand was his left hand. The Israelites sent him to pay their taxes to King Eglon of Moab.

¹⁶ Ehud made a short sword that was sharp on both sides. ^{[ b ]} He tied it to the top of his right leg and he hid it under his coat. ¹⁷ He took the money to give to King Eglon, who was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After Ehud had given the money to the king, he sent back home the men who had carried it. ¹⁹ But when Ehud reached the stone idols at Gilgal, he turned round to go back to the king. He said to King Eglon, ‘I have a secret message for you, sir!’ So the king said, ‘Leave us alone.’ All his servants went out. ²⁰ The king was now sitting alone in his cool room on the roof of the palace. Ehud went near to the king and he said, ‘I have a message from God for you.’ The king started to get up from his chair. ²¹ Then Ehud used his left hand to take the sword from his right leg. He pushed it deep into the king's stomach. ²² The king's fat covered the whole sword, even its handle. Its point came out through the king's back. Ehud did not pull out the sword. He left it there. ²³ Ehud went out of the room and he locked the doors. Then he escaped from the palace.

²⁴ The king's servants came up to the room on the roof. They saw that the doors were locked. They thought that the king was using the toilet inside. ²⁵ They waited for a long time and they started to worry. But the king still did not open the doors of his room. So they took the key and they opened the doors. Then they saw their master, the king! He was lying on the floor and he was dead.

²⁶ While the servants were waiting outside the king's room, Ehud had escaped. He went past the stone idols, and he ran to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived there in the hill country of Ephraim, he made a loud noise with a trumpet. He led the Israelites down from the hills. ²⁸ He said to them, ‘Follow me! The Lord will put your enemy, the Moabites, under your power!’ The Israelites followed him to the Jordan River, near the border of Moab. They would not let anyone go across the river. ²⁹ That day they killed about 10,000 Moabite soldiers. They were all strong, brave fighters, but none of them escaped. ³⁰ The Israelites won the fight against Moab that day. The land of Israel had peace for 80 years.

Shamgar

³¹ After this, Anath's son Shamgar became Israel's leader. One time, he used a stick with a sharp point to kill 600 Philistines. ^{[ c ]} He rescued the Israelites from their enemies, as Ehud had done.

Footnotes

3:6 Many nations of people lived in Canaan before God gave it to the Israelites. The Philistines were sailors who lived in five cities near the Mediterranean Sea. The Moabites and the Ammonites were cousins of the Israelites. See Genesis 19:36-38 . All these people worshipped false gods.
3:16 Ehud's sword was like a long knife, about 45 centimetres long.
3:31 They used sticks like this to push oxen to make them move and do work.

3 The Lord did not force all the other nations to leave Israel’s land. He wanted to test the Israelites. None of the Israelites living at this time had fought in the wars to take the land of Canaan. So he let those other nations stay in their country. (He did this to teach the Israelites who had not fought in those wars.) These are the nations the Lord left in the land: ³ the five rulers 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 He left those nations in the land to test the Israelites. He wanted to see if the Israelites would obey the Lord ’s commands that he had given to their ancestors through Moses.

⁵ The Israelites lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, the Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁶ The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people. They allowed their own daughters to marry the sons of those people. The Israelites also began to worship their gods.

Othniel, the First Judge

⁷ The Lord saw that the Israelites did evil things. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the false gods Baal and Asherah. ⁸ The Lord was angry with the Israelites, so he allowed King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim ^{[ a ]} to defeat the Israelites and to rule over them. The Israelites were under that king’s rule for eight years. ⁹ But the Israelites cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent a man named Othniel to save them. He was the son of Kenaz, who was Caleb’s younger brother. Othniel saved the Israelites. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord filled Othniel, and he became a judge for the Israelites. He led the Israelites to war. The Lord helped Othniel defeat King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram. ¹¹ So the land was at peace for 40 years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud, the Judge

¹² Again the Israelites did things the Lord considered evil, and the Lord saw them doing these things. So the Lord gave King Eglon of Moab power to defeat the Israelites. ¹³ Eglon got help from the Ammonites and the Amalekites. They joined him and attacked the Israelites. Eglon and his army defeated the Israelites and forced them to leave the City of Palm Trees. ^{[ b ]} ¹⁴ King Eglon of Moab ruled over the Israelites for 18 years.

¹⁵ The Israelites cried to the Lord for help, so he sent a man named Ehud son of Gera to save them. Ehud was from the tribe of Benjamin and was trained to fight with his left hand. The Israelites sent Ehud with a gift to King Eglon of Moab. ¹⁶ Ehud made himself a sword with two sharp edges that was about 12 inches ^{[ c ]} long. He tied the sword to his right thigh and hid it under his uniform.

¹⁷ So Ehud brought the gift to King Eglon of Moab. Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After offering the gift, Ehud left the palace with the men who had carried the gift. ¹⁹ When Ehud reached the statues ^{[ d ]} near Gilgal, he turned and went back to King Eglon and said, “King, I have a secret message for you.”

The king told him to be quiet and then sent all the servants out of the room. ²⁰ Ehud went to King Eglon. The king was sitting all alone in the upper room of his palace.

Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” The king stood up from his throne. He was very close to Ehud. ²¹ As the king was getting up from his throne, ^{[ e ]} Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right thigh. Then he pushed the sword into the king’s belly. ²² The sword went into Eglon’s belly so far that even the handle sank in and the fat closed around it. The point of the blade came out his back. Ehud left the sword inside Eglon.

²³ Then Ehud went out of the private room, closed the doors to the upper room, and locked the king inside. ²⁴ Ehud then left the main room, and the servants went back in. The servants found the doors to the upper room locked, so they said, “The king must be relieving himself in his private toilet.” ²⁵ The servants waited for a long time, but the king never opened the doors to the upper room. Finally, the servants got worried. They got the key and unlocked the doors. When the servants entered, they saw their king lying dead on the floor.

²⁶ While the servants were waiting for the king, Ehud had time to escape. He passed by the statues and went toward the place named Seirah. ²⁷ When Ehud came to Seirah, he blew a trumpet there in the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites heard the trumpet and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them. ²⁸ He said to the Israelites, “Follow me! The Lord has helped us defeat our enemies, the Moabites.”

So the Israelites followed Ehud. They went down with him to take control of the places where people could easily cross the Jordan River into the land of Moab. The Israelites did not allow any one to go across the Jordan River. ²⁹ They killed about 10,000 strong and brave men from Moab. Not one Moabite man escaped. ³⁰ So on that day the Israelites began to rule over the Moabites, and there was peace in the land for 80 years.

Shamgar, the Judge

³¹ After Ehud saved the Israelites, another man saved Israel. That man’s name was Shamgar son of Anath. ^{[ f ]} Shamgar used an ox goad to kill 600 Philistine men.

Footnotes

Judges 3:8 Aram Naharaim The area in northern Syria between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Judges 3:13 City of Palm Trees Another name for Jericho.
Judges 3:16 12 inches Or 30 cm. Literally, “1 gomed ,” probably equivalent to 2/3 of a cubit.
Judges 3:19 statues These were probably statues of gods or animals that “protected” the entrance to the city. Also in verse 26.
Judges 3:21 He was very close … throne This section of the text is found in the ancient Greek version but not in the standard Hebrew text.
Judges 3:31 Anath The Canaanite goddess of war. Here, this might be Shamgar’s father or mother, or it might mean “Shamgar the great soldier” or “Shamgar from the town of Anath.”

3 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

² Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

³ Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

⁴ And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord , which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

⁵ And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

⁶ And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

⁷ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord , and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

⁸ Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.

⁹ And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord , the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

¹⁰ And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

¹¹ And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹² And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord : and 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 unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.

¹⁴ So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵ But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord , the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

¹⁶ But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

¹⁷ And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.

¹⁸ And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.

¹⁹ But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

²⁰ And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.

²¹ And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

²² And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

²³ Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

²⁴ When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.

²⁵ And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

²⁶ And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

²⁷ And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

²⁸ And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the Lord hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

²⁹ And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

³⁰ So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

³¹ And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

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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Table of Contents

Judges 3

Othniel

Ehud

Shamgar

Footnotes

Othniel, the First Judge

Ehud, the Judge

Shamgar, the Judge

Footnotes

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

The First Judge Frees Israel

Ehud Kills Eglon

Shamgar Saves Israel

Footnotes

Cross references

Othniel

Ehud

Shamgar

Footnotes

Cross references

BibleStudyIt Judges 3

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Judges 3

Othniel

Ehud

Shamgar

Footnotes

Othniel, the First Judge

Ehud, the Judge

Shamgar, the Judge

Footnotes

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

The First Judge Frees Israel

Ehud Kills Eglon

Shamgar Saves Israel

Footnotes

Cross references

Othniel

Ehud

Shamgar

Footnotes

Cross references

Judges 3's Chapter Tabs
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