1 These are the nations the LORD left, so as to test Israel by means of them, that is, all those in Israel who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan;
2 it was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might come to know war, so that he might teach it to those who had not known it before:
3 the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
4 They were for testing Israel, to find out whether they would obey the LORD's commandments that he had given their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 And the children of Israel lived in the midst of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
6 They took the daughters of these peoples as their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.
7 The children of Israel did evil in the LORD's sight; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherim.
8 So the LORD's anger blazed against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia, and the children of Israel were subject to Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.
9 Then the children of Israel cried to the LORD, and the LORD raised up for the children of Israel a deliverer who rescued them, Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb.
10 The Spirit of the LORD was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to battle, and the LORD handed Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia over to him; his hand was strong against Cushan-rishathaim.
11 And the land was at rest for forty years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.
12 Once more the children of Israel did evil in the LORD's sight, and the LORD made Eglon king of Moab strong against Israel, since they had done evil in the LORD's sight.
13 Eglon brought together with him the children of Ammon and Amalek; he went and defeated Israel, and they took over the City of Palms.
14 For eighteen years the children of Israel were subject to Eglon king of Moab.
15 Then the children of Israel cried to the LORD, and the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a man restricted in his right hand. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
16 Ehud made himself a double-edged sword a cubit in length and fastened it on his right thigh beneath his garments.
17 He brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab; Eglon was a very fat man.
18 When Ehud had finished bringing the tribute, he sent off the men who had carried it.
19 He himself, though, turned back from the carved images by Gilgal and said, "I have a secret word for you, O king." The king said, "Hush!" and all his attendants went out.
20 Ehud came in to him while he sat by himself in his cool upper room. Ehud said, "I have a word from God for you," and the king got up from his chair.
21 Ehud put out his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into his belly.
22 Even the handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.
23 Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room on him and locked them.
24 When he had left, the king's servants came and saw that the doors of the upper room were locked. They said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the cool chamber."
25 They waited till they were ashamed, but still he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened up, and there lay their lord on the floor, dead.
26 While they hesitated, Ehud got away; he passed the carved images and escaped to Seirah.
27 On arriving, he sounded the horn in the hill country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, he at their front.
28 He told them, "Come after me, for the LORD has handed your enemies, Moab, over to you." They went down after him, took the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and allowed no one to cross.
29 At that time they killed about ten thousand Moabites, all of them sturdy, all of them valiant men; not a man got away.
30 That day Moab was brought low under Israel's hand, and the land was at rest for eighty years.
31 After him there was Shamgar son of Anath; he killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad, and he too rescued Israel.