Judges 3 · שופטים

Now these are the nations which the Lord left to put Yisra᾽el to the proof by them, all those who had not known all the wars of Kena῾an;

only that the generations of the children of Yisra᾽el might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing of those matters;

namely, five lords of the Pelishtim, and all the Kena῾ani, and the Żidoni, and the Ḥivvi, that dwelt in mount Levanon, from mount Ba῾al-ĥermon to the entrance of Ḥamat.

And they were for putting Yisra᾽el to the proof, to know whether they would hearken to the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moshe.

And the children of Yisra᾽el dwelt among the Kena῾ani, the Ḥitti, and the Emori, and the Perizzi, and the Ḥivvi, and the Yevusi:

and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

And the children of Yisra᾽el did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Ba῾alim and the Asherot.

Therefore the anger of the Lord burned against Yisra᾽el and he sold them into the hand of Kushan-rish῾atayim, king of Aram: and the children of Yisra᾽el served Kushan-rish῾atayim eight years.

And when the children of Yisra᾽el cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Yisra᾽el, who delivered them, namely, ῾Otni᾽el the son of Qenaz, Kalev’s younger brother.

And the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Yisra᾽el, and went out to war: and the Lord delivered Kushan-rish῾atayim, king of Aram, into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Kushan-rish῾atayim.

And the land was quiet for forty years. And ῾Otni᾽el the son of Qenaz died.

And the children of Yisra᾽el did evil again in the sight of the Lord: and the Lord strengthened ῾Eglon the king of Mo᾽av against Yisra᾽el, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

And he gathered to him the children of ῾Ammon and ῾Amaleq, and went and smote Yisra᾽el, and they seized the city of palm trees.

So the children of Yisra᾽el served ῾Eglon the king of Mo᾽av, for eighteen years.

But when the children of Yisra᾽el cried to the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Binyamini, a left-handed man, and by him the children of Yisra᾽el sent a present to ῾Eglon the king of Mo᾽av.

But Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his clothes on his right thigh.

And he brought the present to ῾Eglon king of Mo᾽av: and ῾Eglon was a very fat man.

And when he had finished offering the present, he sent away the people that bore the present.

But he himself turned back after reaching the carved stones that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand to thee, O king. The latter said, Keep silence, and all that stood by him went out from him.

And Ehud came to him; and he was sitting in a cool upper chamber, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God to thee. So he arose out of his seat.

And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

Then Ehud went out to the vestibule, and shut the doors of the chamber upon him, and locked them.

When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the chamber were locked, they said, Surely he is relieving himself in the cool chamber.

And they waited till it was late: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the chamber; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the carved stones, and escaped into Se῾ir.

And it came to pass, when he arrived, that he blew a shofar in the mountain of Efrayim, and the children of Yisra᾽el went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

And he said to them, Follow after me: for the Lord has delivered your enemies, namely Mo᾽av, into your hand. And they went down after him, and seized the fords of the Yarden towards Mo᾽av, and allowed no man to pass over.

And they slew of Mo᾽av at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and no man escaped.

So Mo᾽av was subdued that day under the hand of Yisra᾽el. And the land was quiet for eighty years.

And after him was Shamgar the son of ῾Anat, who slew of the Pelishtim six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Yisra᾽el.