1
And these are the nations which Jehovah let··stay to tempt Israel by them, all those that had not known all the battles of Canaan ;
2
only that the generations of the sons of Israel might ··know , to teach them war , only those who knew not before ;
3
five satraps* of the Philistines , and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites that dwell in the mountain of Lebanon , from Mount Baal-hermon to◦ the coming ··in of Ḥamath.
4
And they were there to tempt Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah , which He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses .
5
And the sons of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites , and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites , and the Jebusites ;
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and they took their daughters unto them◦ for wives , and gave their daughters unto their sons, and served their gods .
7
And the sons of Israel did evil in the eyes of Jehovah , and forgot Jehovah their God , and served the Baalim and the groves.
8
And the anger of Jehovah was··fierce against Israel , and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim ; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
9
And the sons of Israel cried unto▵ Jehovah , and Jehovah raised··up a saviour to the sons of Israel , and he saved them; Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb , younger ◦ than he.
10
And the spirit of Jehovah was upon him, and he judged Israel , and went··out to war ; and Jehovah gave Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram , into his hand ; and his hand was··strong against Cushan-rishathaim.
11
And the land was quiet for forty years; and Othniel the son of Kenaz died .
12
And the sons of Israel did evil again in the eyes of Jehovah , and Jehovah made· Eglon, the king of Moab , ·firm against Israel , because they did evil in the eyes of Jehovah .
13
And he gathered unto▵ him the sons of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel , and possessed the city of palm··trees*.
14
And the sons of Israel served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
15
And the sons of Israel cried to▵ Jehovah , and Jehovah raised··up a saviour for them, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjaminite, a left-handed* man ◦, and by his hand the sons of Israel sent a gift··offering to Eglon the king of Moab .
16
And Ehud made for himself a sword , and it had◦ two mouths*, a gomed* in length ; and he did··gird it under his robe upon his right thigh .
17
And he offered the gift◦ to Eglon king of Moab ; and Eglon was a very well fed* man ◦.
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And it was, when▵ he completed offering the gift··offering and sent ··away the people that bore the gift··offering ;
19
that he◦ himself turned ··back from the graven images which were by Gilgal , and said , I have a secret word unto▵ thee, O king; and he said , Keep··silent! And all that stood by◦ him went··out from him.
20
And Ehud came unto▵ him; and he◦ was sitting in the cool upper··room, which was for himself alone; and Ehud said , I have◦ a word of God for◦ thee, and he arose from off his throne .
21
And Ehud put ··forth◦ his left hand , and took the sword from upon his right thigh , and fixed it in his belly :
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and the haft also came ··in after the blade*; and the fat closed over▫ the blade, so that he drew▵ not the sword from his belly ; and it went··out the hind ··parts.
23
And Ehud went··out by the ante-chamber and closed the doors of the upper··room upon him and locked them.
24
And he◦ went··out, and his servants came ··in; and they saw and behold, the doors of the upper··room were locked, and they said , Surely he◦ covers his feet in the cool chamber.
25
And they waited until they were··ashamed ; and behold, no··one opened the doors of the upper··room; and they took the key and opened it; and behold their lord had fallen to the earth dead .
26
And Ehud escaped while they lingered , and he◦ passed ··by the graven images , and escaped unto Seirath.
27
And it was, when he was come , that he sounded a shophar* in the mountain of Ephraim , and the sons of Israel went··down with him from the mount and he◦ before them.
28
And he said , Pursue after me, for Jehovah has given your enemies , the Moabites , into your hand . And they went··down after him and captured the fords of the Jordan to Moab , and allowed◦* not a man ◦ to cross··over.
29
And they smote of Moab at that◦ time about◦ ten thousand men ◦, all vigorous* and all men ◦ of valor; and there escaped not a man ◦.
30
And Moab was humbled that day under the hand of Israel . And the land was quiet for eighty years.
31
And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, and he smote of the Philistines six hundred men ◦ with a cattle goad; and he also saved Israel .