7 kAnd the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had lseen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.
10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who mdid not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
11 And the people of Israel ndid what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 And they oabandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, pwho had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the qgods of the peoples who were around them, and rbowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 So the sanger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to tplunderers, who plundered them. And he usold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that vthey could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, was the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.
The Lord Raises Up Judges
16 Then the Lord xraised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they ywhored after other gods and bowed down to them. They zsoon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was awith the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was bmoved to pity by their cgroaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, dthey turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people have etransgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 fI will no longer drive out before them any of the gnations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to htest Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
1 Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the ifive lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among jthe Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And ktheir daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
Othniel
7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They lforgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the manger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord nraised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 oThe Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he pjudged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had qrest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 And the people of Israel ragain did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the scity of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 Then the people of Israel tcried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a uleft-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he vsounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the wfords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had xrest for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed y600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.
