Judges 3:5-26

⁵And 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,

⁶and take their daughters to them for wives, and their daughters have given to their sons, and they serve their gods;

⁷and the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and forget Jehovah their God, and serve the Baalim and the shrines.

⁸And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel, and He selleth them into the hand of Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram-Naharaim, and the sons of Israel serve Chushan-Rishathaim eight years;

⁹and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth a saviour to the sons of Israel, and he saveth them — Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother;

¹⁰and the Spirit of Jehovah is upon him, and he judgeth Israel, and goeth out to battle, and Jehovah giveth unto his hand Chushan-Rishathaim king of Aram, and strong is his hand against Chushan-Rishathaim;

¹¹and the land resteth forty years. And Othniel son of Kenaz dieth,

¹²and the sons of Israel add to do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah strengtheneth Eglon king of Moab against Israel, because that they have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah;

¹³and he gathereth unto him the Bene-Ammon and Amalek, and goeth and smiteth Israel, and they possess the city of palms;

¹⁴and the sons of Israel serve Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵And the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah, and Jehovah raiseth 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;

¹⁶and Ehud maketh for himself a sword, and it hath two mouths (a cubit is its length), and he girdeth it under his long robe on his right thigh;

¹⁷and he bringeth near the present to Eglon king of Moab, and Eglon is a very fat man.

¹⁸And it cometh to pass, when he hath finished to bring near the present, that he sendeth away the people bearing the present,

¹⁹and he himself hath turned back from the graven images which are at Gilgal, and saith, 'A secret word I have unto thee, O king;' and he saith, 'Hush!' and go out from him do all those standing by him.

²⁰And Ehud hath come unto him, and he is sitting in the upper chamber of the wall which he hath for himself, and Ehud saith, 'A word of God I have unto thee;' and he riseth from off the throne;

²¹and Ehud putteth forth his left hand, and taketh the sword from off his right thigh, and striketh it into his belly;

²²and the haft also goeth in after the blade, and the fat shutteth on the blade, that he hath not drawn the sword out of his belly, and it goeth out at the fundament.

²³And Ehud goeth out at the porch, and shutteth the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and hath bolted it;

²⁴and he hath 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.'

²⁵And 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.

²⁶And Ehud escaped during their tarrying, and hath passed by the images, and is escaped to Seirath.