The Nations Remaining in the Land
1 Now thesearethe nations which theLordleft, that He might test Israel by them,thatis,all who had not known any of the wars in Canaan
2 (thiswasonly so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),
3 namely,five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.
4 And they wereleft, that He mighttest Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of theLord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
6 Andthey took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.
Othniel
7 So the children of Israel didevil in the sight of theLord. Theyforgot theLordtheir God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.
8 Therefore the anger of theLordwas hot against Israel, and Hesold them into the hand ofCushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.
9 When the children of Israelcried out to theLord, theLordraised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them:Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10 The Spirit of theLordcame upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and theLorddelivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim.
11 So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of theLord. So theLordstrengthenedEglon king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of theLord.
13 Then he gathered to himself the people of Ammon andAmalek, went and defeated Israel, and took possession ofthe City of Palms.
14 So the children of Israelserved Eglon king of Moab eighteen years.
15 But when the children of Israelcried out to theLord, theLordraised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, aleft-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
16 Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.
17 So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (Now Eglonwasa very fat man.)
18 And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.
19 But he himself turned backfrom the stone images thatwereat Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”
He said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him went out from him.
20 So Ehud came to him (now he was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber). Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he arose fromhisseat.
21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
22 Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.
23 Then Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 When he had gone out,Eglon’sservants came to look, andtotheirsurprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probablyattending to his needs in the cool chamber.”
25 So they waited till they wereembarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and openedthem.And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor.
26 But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah.
27 And it happened, when he arrived, thathe blew the trumpet in themountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them.
28 Then he said to them, “Followme,fortheLordhas delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized thefords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.
29 And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped.
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. Andthe land had rest for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After him wasShamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistineswith an ox goad;and he also deliveredIsrael.