Judges 3

¹ And these [are] the nations which Yahweh left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan; ² (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel's knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them) - ³ five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath; ⁴ and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Yahweh that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. ⁵ And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, ⁶ and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their elohims; ⁷ and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Yahweh, and forget Yahweh their Elohim, and serve the Baalim and the shrines. ⁸ And the anger of Yahweh burns against Israel, and He sells them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years; ⁹ and the sons of Israel cry unto Yahweh, and Yahweh raises a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saves them - Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother; ¹⁰ and the Spirit of Yahweh is upon him, and he judges Israel, and goes out to battle, and Yahweh gives unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim; ¹¹ and the land rests forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dies, ¹² and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Yahweh; and Yahweh strengthens Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Yahweh; ¹³ and he gathers unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goes and smites Israel, and they possess the city of palms; ¹⁴ and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. ¹⁵ And the sons of Israel cry unto Yahweh, and Yahweh raises to them a saviour, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite (a man -shut of his right hand), and the sons of Israel send by his hand a present to Eglon king of Moab; ¹⁶ and Ehud makes for himself a sword, and it has two mouths (a cubit [is] its length), and he girds it under his long robe on his right thigh; ¹⁷ and he brings near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon [is] a very fat man. ¹⁸ And it comes to pass, when he has finished to bring near the present, that he sends away the people bearing the present, ¹⁹ and he himself has turned back from the graven images which [are] at Gilgal, and said, "A secret word I have unto you, O king;" and he said, "Hush!" and go out from him do all those standing by him. ²⁰ And Ehud has come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he has for himself, and Ehud said, "A word of Elohim I have unto you;" and he rises from off the throne; ²¹ and Ehud puts forth his left hand, and takes the sword from off his right thigh, and strikes it into his belly; ²² and the shaft also goes in after the blade, and the fat shuts on the blade, that he has not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goes out at the fundament. ²³ And Ehud goes out at the porch, and shuts the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and has bolted [it]; ²⁴ and he has gone out, and his servants have come in, and look, and lo, the doors of the upper chamber are bolted, and they say, "He is only covering his feet in the inner chamber of the wall." ²⁵ And they stay till confounded, and lo, he is not opening the doors of the upper chamber, and they take the key, and open, and lo, their lord is fallen to the earth -dead. ²⁶ And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and has passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath. ²⁷ And it comes to pass, in his coming in, that he blows with a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim, and go down with him do the sons of Israel from the hill-country, and he before them; ²⁸ and he said unto them, "Pursue after me, for Yahweh has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand;" and they go down after him, and capture the passages of the Jordan towards Moab, and have not permitted a man to pass over. ²⁹ And they smite Moab at that time, about ten thousand men, all robust, and every one a man of valor, and not a man has escaped, ³⁰ and Moab is humbled in that day under the hand of Israel; and the land rests eighty years. ³¹ And after him has been Shamgar son of Anath, and he smites the Philistines - six hundred men - with an ox-goad, and he saves - he also - Israel.