Judges 3
The full text of Judges 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 These are the nations the LORD left to test all the Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan
2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the generations of Israelites who had not had previous battle experience):
3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.
4 They were left to test Israel and to see whether they would obey the LORD's commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
6 They took the daughters of these peoples as wives, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
8 So the LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, and the Israelites were subject to him for eight years.
9 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, who saved them.
10 The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and his hand prevailed over him.
11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and because they did this evil the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel.
13 Eglon gathered the Ammonites and Amalekites to him, and he came and struck Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.
14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15 Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud son of Gera, a Benjamite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
16 Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword about a cubit long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing.
17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.
18 After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away those who had carried it.
19 But on reaching the carved images near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, "Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you." The king said, "Quiet!" And all his attendants left him.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the cool upper room of his palace and said, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his seat,
21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into the king's belly.
22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and the fat closed over it, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.
23 Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house."
25 They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he still did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There lay their lord, fallen to the floor, dead.
26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed the carved images and escaped to Seirah.
27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.
28 "Follow me," he ordered, "for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." So they followed him down and took the fords of the Jordan against Moab, allowing no one to cross over.
29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not one escaped.
30 That day Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.
31 After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
Translation notes (10)
- Judges 3:2a The Hebrew in this verse is very concise, and the grammatical structure of this parenthetical phrase, which explains the purpose, is debated. The translation aims to keep the stated purpose—training a war-untested generation—without resolving the obscurity.
- Judges 3:7a "The Asherahs" translates the Hebrew word Asheroth, which refers to the cult symbols or images of the goddess Asherah. Some traditions translate this as "wooden poles" or even the goddess herself. The text does not specify which meaning is intended.
- Judges 3:11a "The land had peace for forty years" is a recurring phrase that closes each cycle of deliverance in the book of Judges (compare Judges 3:30; 5:31; 8:28).
- Judges 3:13a "The City of Palms" refers to Jericho or the area around it (compare Deuteronomy 34:3).
- Judges 3:15a The phrase "left-handed" translates a Hebrew expression that literally means "bound or restricted in his right hand"; it is debated whether this means truly left-handed or ambidextrous. This detail sets up the hidden weapon mentioned in verse 16. The name "Benjamite" is a play on the tribal name, which means "son of the right hand."
- Judges 3:16a "About a cubit" translates gomed, a rare Hebrew word for a short measure of length, roughly the length of a forearm; the exact span is uncertain. Worn on the right thigh, the weapon was reachable by a left hand and would not be suspected by guards expecting a right-handed draw.
- Judges 3:19a "The carved images" translates the Hebrew word pesilim, which may refer to idols or sculpted boundary stones near Gilgal. The exact meaning of the term and what it refers to are uncertain and not specified in the text.
- Judges 3:22a The last part of this verse translates parshedonah, a rare Hebrew word of uncertain meaning, commonly understood as "and the contents/dung came out" (referring to the bowels emptying). The exact sense is debated and is not specified in the text; the verse is translated plainly and not softened.
- Judges 3:24a "Relieving himself" translates a Hebrew euphemism, "covering his feet," which is a discreet idiom for going to the toilet. This creates dramatic irony, as the king is already dead.
- Judges 3:30a "The land had peace for eighty years" repeats the recurring phrase that closes each cycle of rest (compare Judges 3:11).
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