3 These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not ·fought in [experienced; known] the wars of Canaan. ² (The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites who had not fought in those wars how to fight.) ³ These are the nations: the five ·rulers [lords] 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 Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites—to see if they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors by [^Lthe hand of] Moses.

⁵ The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁶ The Israelites ·began to marry [^Ltook as wives] the daughters of those people, and they ·allowed their daughters to marry [^Lgave their daughters to] the sons of those people. Israel also served their gods.

Othniel, the First Judge

⁷ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] did ·what the Lord said was wrong [^Levil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the ·idols of Baal [^LBaals; 2:11] and ·Asherah [^LAsherahs; ^Csacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah; Deut. 16:21; Judg. 6:25]. ⁸ So the Lord ·was angry with [^Lburned in anger against] Israel and allowed ·Cushan-Rishathaim [or Cushan, the Doubly Wicked] king of ·northwest Mesopotamia [or Aram Naharaim; ^CNaharaim means “two rivers,” referring to Mesopotamia] to rule over the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] for eight years. ⁹ When Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord ·sent someone to save them [^Lraised up a deliverer]. Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, saved the Israelites. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord ·entered [enpowered; came upon; was upon] Othniel, and he became Israel’s ·judge [leader; 2:16]. When he went to war, the Lord ·handed over to him [^Lgave into his hand] ·Cushan-Rishathaim [or Cushan, the Doubly Wicked; v. 8] king of ·northwest Mesopotamia [or Aram Naharaim; v. 8]. ¹¹ So the land was at ·peace [rest] for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud, the Judge

¹² Again the ·people [^Lsons/^Tchildren] of Israel did ·what the Lord said was wrong [^Levil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel because of the evil Israel did. ¹³ Eglon got the ·Ammonites and the Amalekites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon and Amalek] to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took the city of palm trees [^CJericho]. ¹⁴ So the ·people [^Lsons; ^Tchildren] of Israel were ·ruled by [subject to] Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ When the people cried to the Lord, he ·sent someone to save [^Lraised up a rescuer/^Tdeliverer for] them. He was Ehud, son of Gera from the people of Benjamin, who was ·left-handed [^Lbound in the right hand]. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the ·payment [tribute money] he demanded. ¹⁶ Ehud made himself a sword with two edges, ·about eighteen inches [^La cubit; ^Cthe distance between the elbow and the tip of the fingers] long, and he tied it to his right hip under his clothes. ¹⁷ Ehud gave Eglon king of Moab the ·payment [tribute money] he demanded. Now Eglon was a very fat man [^CEglon means “fat calf”]. ¹⁸ After he had given Eglon the ·payment [tribute money], Ehud ·sent away [dismissed] the people who had carried it. ¹⁹ When he passed the ·statues [images; idols] near Gilgal, he turned around [^CEhud returned to Eglon’s palace and sought a private audience with the king] and said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.”

The king said, “·Be quiet [Silence; or Give us privacy]!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room. ²⁰ Ehud went to King Eglon, as he was sitting alone in the ·room above his summer palace [^Lcool upper room; ^Cprobably a breezy roof-top room with lattice windows; perhaps a bathroom].

Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair [^Cperhaps an act of reverence to receive the divine oracle], ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right hip [^Cthe unusual location on the right allowed concealment and caught the king by surprise]. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly! ²² Even the handle sank in, and ·the blade came out his back [or his bowels discharged]. The king’s fat covered the whole sword, so Ehud left the sword in Eglon. ²³ Then he went out ·of the room [or to the porch/vestibule; or through the latrine] and closed and locked the doors behind him.

²⁴ When the servants returned just after Ehud left, they found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was ·relieving himself [^Lcovering his feet; ^Ca euphemism]. ²⁵ They waited for a long time. Finally they became ·worried [anxious; or embarrassed] because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them and ·saw [^Llook; ^Tbehold] their king lying dead on the floor!

²⁶ While the servants were waiting, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the ·statues [idols; images] and went to Seirah. ²⁷ When he reached the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim he blew the trumpet. The ·people [^Lsons; ^Tchildren] of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.

²⁸ He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has ·helped you to defeat [^Lgiven into your hand] your enemies, the Moabites.” So Israel followed Ehud and captured the ·crossings [fords] of the Jordan River ·across from [or against] Moab. They did not allow the Moabites to cross the Jordan River. ²⁹ Israel killed about ten thousand strong and able men from Moab; not one escaped. ³⁰ So that day Moab was ·forced to be under the rule of Israel [^Lsubdued/made subject that day under the hand of Israel], and there was ·peace [rest] in the land for eighty years.

Shamgar, the Judge

³¹ After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath saved Israel. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with ·a sharp stick used to guide oxen [an oxgoad].