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1Now these are the nations which YHWH left, to test those in Israel by them who had not known all the wars of Canaan.
2The purpose was so that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least those who knew nothing of it before:
3the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.
4They were left to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to YHWH’s commandments, which he commanded their fathers by Moses.
5The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
6They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.
7The children of Israel did that which was evil in YHWH’s sight and forgot YHWH their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
8Therefore YHWH’s anger burned against Israel, and ʜᴇ sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. The children of Israel served Cushan Rishathaim for eight years.
9When the children of Israel cried to YHWH, YHWH raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel who delivered them: Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10The Spirit of YHWH came on him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and YHWH delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. His hand prevailed against Cushan Rishathaim.
11The land had rest forty years, then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12The children of Israel again did what was evil in YHWH’s sight, so YHWH strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in YHWH’s sight.
13He gathered the children of Ammon and Amalek to himself, and he went and struck Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palm Trees.
14The children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15But when the children of Israel cried to YHWH, YHWH raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
16Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit long. He wore it under his clothing on his right thigh.[#3:16 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.]
17He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a exceedingly fat man.
18When Ehud had finished offering the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.
19At the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”
The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him left him.
20Ehud approached to him while he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a message from God to you.” He arose out of his seat.
21Ehud reached out with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into the king’s belly.
22The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade. Ehud did not pull the sword out of his belly, and the waste came out.
23Then Ehud went out onto the porch and closed and locked the doors of the upper room behind him.
24After Ehud left, the servants came and saw that the doors of the upper room were locked. They said, “Surely he is relieving himself in the cool room.”[#3:24 lit. “covering him feet”]
25They waited until they were ashamed, but he didn’t open the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them and saw that their lord had fallen down dead on the floor.
26Ehud escaped while they waited, passed beyond the stone idols, and escaped to Seirah.
27When he arrived, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he led them.
28He said to them, “Y’all must follow me, for YHWH has given y’all’s enemies the Moabites into y’all’s hand.” So they followed him and captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and didn’t allow anyone to pass over.
29They struck at that time about ten thousand men of Moab, every strong man and every man of valor. No man escaped.
30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. Then the land was undisturbed for eighty years.
31After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad. He also delivered Israel.