1 Now these are the Gentiles which the Lord left, to prove Israel with them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2 he left them only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, and to teach them war, only for those that had known nothing before:
3 namely, five cardinals of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.
4 These, therefore, were left to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 And as the sons of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
6 they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons and served their gods.
7 And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and forgot the Lord their God and served the Baalim and the groves.
8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia, and the sons of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.
9 And when the sons of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a saviour to the sons of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war; and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.
11 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.
12 And the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.
13 And he gathered unto him the sons of Ammon and of Amalek and went and smote Israel and took the city of palm trees.
14 So the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 But when the sons of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a saviour, Ehud, the son of Gera, a son of Jemini, {Benjamin} a man, who had his right hand impeded, and by him the sons of Israel sent a present unto Eglon, the king of Moab.
16 But Ehud had made himself a two-edged sword of a cubit length, and he girded it under his clothing upon his right thigh.
17 And he brought the present unto Eglon, king of Moab, and Eglon was a very fat man.
18 And when he had offered the present, he sent away the people that had brought the present.
19 But he, himself turned again from the graven images that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret word for thee, O king, who then said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.
20 And Ehud came unto him, and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a word from God unto thee. Then he arose out of his seat.
21 But Ehud put forth his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into Eglon’s belly;
22 in such a manner that 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 excrement came out.
23 Then Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlour upon him and locked them.
24 When he was gone out, his slaves came; and when they saw that the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Peradventure he covers his feet in his summer chamber.
25 And having waited until they were confounded and he had not opened the doors of the parlour; therefore, they took a key and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.
26 But while they had waited, Ehud escaped and passed beyond the graven images and escaped unto Seirath.
27 And as he entered in, he blew the shofar in the mountain of Ephraim, and the sons of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.
28 Then he said unto them, Follow after me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands. And they went down after him and took the fords of the Jordan towards Moab and did not let anyone pass.
29 And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all fat, and all men of war, and there escaped not a man.
30 So Moab was subjected that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years.
31 And after him was Shamgar, the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad, and he also saved Israel.