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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Judges 3</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/bsb/spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/3.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc//judges/3-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/judges/">Judges</a> > Judges 3</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../judges/2.htm" title="Judges 2">◄</a> Judges 3 <a href="../judges/4.htm" title="Judges 4">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div align="center" id="jump2"><a href="/niv/judges/3.htm">NIV</a> • <a href="/nlt/judges/3.htm">NLT</a> • <a href="/esv/judges/3.htm">ESV</a> • <a href="/kjv/judges/3.htm">KJV</a> • <a href="/nkjv/judges/3.htm">NKJ</a> • <a href="/nasb/judges/3.htm">NAS</a></div><br /><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="1%" valign="top">BSB</td><td width="99%" valign="top" align="right"><a href="/parallel/judges/3.htm" style="font-weight:normal" title="Parallel Chapters">Parallel Chapters ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><A name="2"></a><p class="hdg">Nations Left to Test Israel<p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>These are the nations that the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan, <A name="3"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly: <A name="4"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. <A name="5"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out whether they would keep the commandments of the LORD, which He had given their fathers through Moses. <A name="6"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. <A name="7"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. <A name="8"></a><p class="hdg">Othniel<p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. <A name="9"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Then the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram-naharaim,<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">a</a></span> and the Israelites served him eight years. <A name="10"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them. <A name="11"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him. <A name="12"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died. <A name="13"></a><p class="hdg">Ehud<p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. <A name="14"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">b</a></span> <A name="15"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>The Israelites served Eglon king of Moab eighteen years. <A name="16"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. <A name="17"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long.<span class="fn"><a href="#fn">c</a></span> He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak <A name="18"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>and brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was an obese man. <A name="19"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he ushered out those who had carried it. <A name="20"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>But upon reaching the idols near Gilgal, he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” <p class="reg">“Silence,” said the king, and all his attendants left him. <A name="21"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat. <A name="22"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. <A name="23"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s bowels emptied. <A name="24"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Then Ehud went out through the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upper room behind him. <A name="25"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>After Ehud was gone, Eglon’s servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. “He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said. <A name="26"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>So they waited until they became worried and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upper room. Then they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor. <A name="27"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Ehud, however, had escaped while the servants waited. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. <A name="28"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader. <A name="29"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>“Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” <p class="reg"> So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over. <A name="30"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men. Not one of them escaped. <A name="31"></a><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>So Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel that day, and the land had rest for eighty years. <p class="hdg">Shamgar<p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/judges/3-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.</p><A name="fn"></a><div id="fnlink"><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:</b><br><br><span class="fnverse">8</span> <span class="footnotesbot">a</span> That is, Mesopotamia; <i>Aram-naharaim</i><span class="thin"> </span> means <i>Aram of the two rivers</i><span class="thin"> </span>, likely the region between the Euphrates and Balih Rivers in northwestern Mesopotamia.<br><span class="fnverse">13</span> <span class="footnotesbot">b</span> That is, Jericho<br><span class="fnverse">16</span> <span class="footnotesbot">c</span> <i>A cubit</i><span class="thin"> </span> is approximately 18 inches or 45.7 centimeters.<br><br /></div><br /></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Berean Bible (<a href=http://berean.bible>www.Berean.Bible</a>) <a href=http://bereanbible.com>Berean Study Bible (BSB)</a> © 2016, 2020 by <a href=http://biblehub.com>Bible Hub</a> and <a href=http://berean.bible>Berean.Bible</a>. 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