3:1 These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not ·fought in [experienced; known] the wars of Canaan.
3:2 (The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites who had not fought in those wars how to fight.)
3:3 These are the nations: the five ·rulers [lords] of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the people of Sidon, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.
3:4 Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites—to see if they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors by [L the hand of] Moses.
3:5 The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
3:6 The Israelites ·began to marry [L took as wives] the daughters of those people, and they ·allowed their daughters to marry [L gave their daughters to] the sons of those people. Israel also served their gods.
3:7 The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. They forgot about the Lord their God and served the ·idols of Baal [L Baals; 2:11] and ·Asherah [L Asherahs; C sacred trees or poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah; Deut. 16:21; Judg. 6:25].
3:8 So the Lord ·was angry with [L burned in anger against] Israel and allowed ·Cushan-Rishathaim [or Cushan, the Doubly Wicked] king of ·northwest Mesopotamia [or Aram Naharaim; C Naharaim means “two rivers,” referring to Mesopotamia] to rule over the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] for eight years.
3:9 When Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord ·sent someone to save them [L raised up a deliverer]. Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, saved the Israelites.
3:10 The Spirit of the Lord ·entered [enpowered; came upon; was upon] Othniel, and he became Israel’s ·judge [leader; 2:16]. When he went to war, the Lord ·handed over to him [L gave into his hand] ·Cushan-Rishathaim [or Cushan, the Doubly Wicked; v. 8] king of ·northwest Mesopotamia [or Aram Naharaim; v. 8].
3:11 So the land was at ·peace [rest] for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
3:12 Again the ·people [L sons/T children] of Israel did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel because of the evil Israel did.
3:13 Eglon got the ·Ammonites and the Amalekites [L sons/descendants of Ammon and Amalek] to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took the city of palm trees [C Jericho].
3:14 So the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel were ·ruled by [subject to] Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
3:15 When the people cried to the Lord, he ·sent someone to save [L raised up a rescuer/T deliverer for] them. He was Ehud, son of Gera from the people of Benjamin, who was ·left-handed [L bound in the right hand]. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the ·payment [tribute money] he demanded.
3:16 Ehud made himself a sword with two edges, ·about eighteen inches [L a cubit; C the distance between the elbow and the tip of the fingers] long, and he tied it to his right hip under his clothes.
3:17 Ehud gave Eglon king of Moab the ·payment [tribute money] he demanded. Now Eglon was a very fat man [C Eglon means “fat calf”].
3:18 After he had given Eglon the ·payment [tribute money], Ehud ·sent away [dismissed] the people who had carried it.
3:19 When he passed the ·statues [images; idols] near Gilgal, he turned around [C Ehud returned to Eglon’s palace and sought a private audience with the king] and said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.” The king said, “·Be quiet [Silence; or Give us privacy]!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room.
3:20 Ehud went to King Eglon, as he was sitting alone in the ·room above his summer palace [L cool upper room; C probably a breezy roof-top room with lattice windows; perhaps a bathroom]. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair [C perhaps an act of reverence to receive the divine oracle],
3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand and took out the sword that was tied to his right hip [C the unusual location on the right allowed concealment and caught the king by surprise]. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly!
3:22 Even the handle sank in, and ·the blade came out his back [or his bowels discharged]. The king’s fat covered the whole sword, so Ehud left the sword in Eglon.
3:23 Then he went out ·of the room [or to the porch/vestibule; or through the latrine] and closed and locked the doors behind him.
3:24 When the servants returned just after Ehud left, they found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was ·relieving himself [L covering his feet; C a euphemism].
3:25 They waited for a long time. Finally they became ·worried [anxious; or embarrassed] because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them and ·saw [L look; T behold] their king lying dead on the floor!
3:26 While the servants were waiting, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the ·statues [idols; images] and went to Seirah.
3:27 When he reached the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim he blew the trumpet. The ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.
3:28 He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has ·helped you to defeat [L given into your hand] your enemies, the Moabites.” So Israel followed Ehud and captured the ·crossings [fords] of the Jordan River ·across from [or against] Moab. They did not allow the Moabites to cross the Jordan River.
3:29 Israel killed about ten thousand strong and able men from Moab; not one escaped.
3:30 So that day Moab was ·forced to be under the rule of Israel [L subdued/made subject that day under the hand of Israel], and there was ·peace [rest] in the land for eighty years.
3:31 After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath saved Israel. Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with ·a sharp stick used to guide oxen [an oxgoad].
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