^aNow these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them (that is, all the Israelites who had not ¹experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might ¹be taught war, ²those who had not ³experienced it previously). 3 These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and ^athe Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as ¹Lebo-hamath. 4 They were left to ^atest Israel by them, to find out if they would ¹obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers ²through Moses. 5 ^aThe sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and ^athey 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 ^awhat was evil in the sight of the LORD, and they ^bforgot the LORD their God and ^cserved the Baals and the ¹Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of ¹Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

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, ^aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 And ^athe 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 ¹Mesopotamia, so that ²he 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 ^adid evil in the sight of the LORD. So ^bthe 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 ¹defeated Israel, and they took possession of ^athe city of the palm trees. 14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.

15 But when the sons of Israel ^acried 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 ¹him 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 ¹the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the ¹vestibule, and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When he had left, ¹the king’s servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “^aUndoubtedly he is ²relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 So they waited ¹until 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 ²floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were hesitating, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 And ¹when he arrived, ^ahe 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 ²leading 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 ^athe 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.

31 Now after him came ^aShamgar the son of Anath, who struck and killed six hundred Philistines with an ¹oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

^aNow these are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan; 2 ¹however, God tested them in order that the generations of the sons of Israel would know war, by learning war, ²especially those who had not known it formerly). 3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and ^athe Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as ¹Lebo-hamath. 4 And they were for ^1atesting Israel, to know if they would ²obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 ^aNow the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and ^athey took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

7 Thus the sons of Israel did ^awhat was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and ^bforgot Yahweh their God and ^cserved the Baals and the ¹Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of ¹Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 Then the sons of Israel cried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for the sons of Israel to save them, ^aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 ^aAnd the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-rishathaim king of ¹Mesopotamia into his hand. So his hand was strong against Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land was quiet for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 Then the sons of Israel again ^adid what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So ^bYahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed ^athe city of the palm trees. 14 So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

15 Then the sons of Israel ^acried to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by his hand to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a ¹cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 Then he brought the tribute near to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And it happened when he had finished bringing the tribute near, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the graven images which were at Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who stood by him left him. 20 But Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud sent forth his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.

24 Now he went out, and his servants came in and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “^aHe is surely ¹relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 Then they waited until they were ashamed; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the ¹floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the graven images and escaped to Seirah. 27 And it happened when he had arrived, that ^ahe 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 in front of them. 28 Then he said to them, “Pursue them, for Yahweh has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and captured ^athe fords of the Jordan opposite Moab and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 And they struck down at that time about 10,000 Moabites, 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 quiet for eighty years.

31 Now after him was ^aShamgar the son of Anath. And he struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

^aNow these are the nations which the LORD left in order to test Israel by them (that is, all the people of Israel who had not previously experienced any of the wars in Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, at least those who had not experienced it previously). 3 The remaining nations are: the five lords (governors) of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and ^athe Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 4 They were allowed to remain for the ^atesting of Israel, to determine whether Israel would listen to and obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers (ancestors) through Moses. 5 And the ^aIsraelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites; 6 and ^athey took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their pagan gods. Ex 34:12-16

7 And the Israelites did ^aevil in the sight of the LORD, and they ^bforgot the LORD their God and ^cserved the Baals and the ¹Asheroth. Judg 2:13 8 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of ¹Mesopotamia; and the Israelites served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

9 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a ¹man to rescue the people of Israel, ^2aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 ^aThe 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. 11 And the land was at rest from oppression for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 Now the Israelites again ^adid evil in the sight of the LORD, and ^bthe LORD strengthened Eglon king of Moab against Israel, since they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 And Eglon gathered to him the sons of Ammon and Amalek, and went and struck down Israel in defeat, and they took possession of ^athe City of Palm Trees (Jericho) . 14 And the Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

15 But when the Israelites ^acried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a ¹man to rescue them, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, ²a left-handed man. And the Israelites sent a gift of tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud made for himself a sword a ¹cubit long, which had two edges, and he bound it on his ²right thigh under his robe. 17 And he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the ¹tribute, he sent away the people who had carried it. 19 But Ehud himself turned back from the ¹sculptured stones at Gilgal, and he returned to Eglon and said to him, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon said “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. 20 Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his private cool upper chamber, and Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And the king got up from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached out with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, because Ehud did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the upper chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When Ehud departed, Eglon’s servants came. And when they saw that the doors of the upper room were locked, they said, “^aHe is only ¹relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited a very long time until they became embarrassed and uneasy, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. So finally they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor, dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they lingered, and he passed beyond the sculptured stones and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he had arrived, ^ahe blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. 28 And he said to them, “Pursue them, for the LORD has handed over your enemies the Moabites to you.” So they went down after him and seized ^athe ¹fords of the Jordan opposite Moab and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabite men, all strong, courageous men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued and humbled that day under the hand of Israel, and the land was at rest for eighty years.

31 After Ehud came ^aShamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistine men with an ¹oxgoad. He too saved Israel.