Chapter 3
1 the Philistines and their five rulers, as well as the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in the Lebanon Mountains from Mount Baal-Hermon to Hamath Pass.
2 Moses had told the Israelites what the Lord had commanded them to do, and now the Lord was using these nations to find out if Israel would obey.
3 The Israelites sinned against the Lord by forgetting him and worshiping idols of Baal and Astarte.
4 This made the Lord angry, so he let Israel be defeated by King Cushan Rishathaim of northern Syria, who ruled Israel eight years and made everyone pay taxes.
5 The Israelites begged the Lord for help, and so he chose Othniel to rescue them. Othniel was the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz.
6 The Spirit of the Lord took control of Othniel, and he led Israel in a war against Cushan Rishathaim. The Lord let Othniel win,
7 and Israel was at peace until Othniel died about 40 years later.
8 Once more the Israelites started disobeying the Lord . So he let them be defeated by King Eglon of Moab,
9 who had joined forces with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to attack Israel. Eglon and his army captured Jericho.
10 Then he ruled Israel for 18 years and forced the Israelites to pay heavy taxes.
11 Eglon replied, "Don’t say anything yet!" His officials left the room, and Eglon stood up as Ehud came closer. "Yes," Ehud said, "I have a message for you from God!"
12 Ehud pulled out the dagger with his left hand and shoved it so far into Eglon’s stomach
13 and left. When the king’s officials came back and saw that the doors were locked, they said, "The king is probably inside relieving himself."
14 They stood there waiting until they felt foolish, but Eglon still didn’t open the doors. Finally, they unlocked the doors and found King Eglon lying dead on the floor.
15 But by that time, Ehud had already escaped past the statues. Ehud went to the town of Seirah
16 The Israelites followed Ehud down to the Jordan valley, and they captured the places where people cross the river on the way to Moab. They would not let anyone go across,
17 and before the fighting was over, they killed about 10,000 Moabite warriors—not one escaped alive.
18 Moab was so badly defeated that it was a long time before they were strong enough to attack Israel again. And Israel was at peace for 80 years.
19 Shamgar the son of Anath was the next to rescue Israel. In one battle, he used a sharp wooden pole to kill 600 Philistines.