Judges 3

God Tests Israel with Their Enemies

1 These are the nations God left in the land to test the Israelites, to see what they were really about since they did not experience war like their ancestors did.

2 God left them there to teach the new generation how to fight, folks who did not know war like that.

3 The nations left were: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon down to Lebo-hamath.

4 God let them stay to test Israel, to see if they would really listen to His commands like He gave through Moses.

5 Israel ended up living right among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

6 They started marrying these people’s daughters and giving their sons to them too. And just like that, Israel started worshipping their fake gods.

Othniel, Israel’s First Judge

7 Israel started acting wild, doing evil in God’s sight. They forgot about the Lord and started serving fake gods called Baals and Asheroth.

8 God got heated, so He let King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram (Mesopotamia) come through and rule over them for 8 years.

9 But when Israel cried out for help, God raised up a deliverer, Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, to save them.

10 The Spirit of the Lord came on Othniel heavy. He led Israel into battle and God gave him the win over King Cushan-rishathaim.

11 After that, the land was peaceful for 40 years. Then Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.

Ehud, the Left-handed Assassin Judge

12 Israel started wilding again, doing evil in God’s sight. So the Lord let King Eglon of Moab get power over Israel.

13 Eglon teamed up with the Ammonites and Amalekites. They took out Israel and captured the city of palm trees, Jericho.

14 Israel served Eglon, king of Moab, for 18 years.

15 Then Israel cried out to God again. And God raised up another deliverer, Ehud, son of Gera, from the tribe of Benjamin, a left-handed dude. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tax money to King Eglon.

16 Ehud made himself a double-edged dagger, about a foot long, and strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes.

17 He delivered the tax money to King Eglon, who was super fat.

18 After delivering the money, Ehud sent his crew away.

19 But Ehud doubled back and told the king, “I got a secret message for you, King.” Eglon said, “Quiet!” and sent all his servants out the room.

20 Ehud came close as the king was chilling in his cool upstairs room. Ehud said, “I got a word from God for you.” As Eglon stood up…

21 Ehud reached with his left hand, grabbed the dagger from his right thigh, and stabbed Eglon in his belly.

22 The dagger went in deep, even the handle got swallowed up in the fat. Ehud did not even pull the blade out. The king’s insides spilled out.

23 Ehud dipped out the back, locked the doors behind him, and escaped.

24 After he left, the king’s servants came and saw the doors locked. They said, “He probably using the bathroom.”

25 They waited so long they started getting embarrassed. When they opened the doors, their king was laid out dead on the floor.

26 Meanwhile, Ehud got away. He passed the stone idols near Seirah and escaped to safety in Seirah.

27 When he got there, Ehud blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him, and Ehud told them, “Follow me! God has handed over your enemies, the Moabites!”

28 They followed Ehud and cut off the Moabites from crossing the Jordan River, trapping them in.

29 Israel struck down about 10,000 Moabite warriors, all strong men. Nobody escaped.

30 That day, Moab was humbled under Israel’s hand. The land had peace for 80 years.

Shamgar, the Judge with the Ox Stick

31 After Ehud came Shamgar, son of Anath. He killed 600 Philistines using nothing but an ox stick, and he saved Israel too.