Judges 3:18

18 When Ehud had finished delivering the payment, he sent back the men who had carried it.

Judges 3:18 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 3:18

And when he had made an end to offer the present
Had delivered the several things contained in it, and very probably made a speech to the king in the name of the people of Israel from whom he brought it:

he sent away the people that bare the present;
not the servants of Eglon that introduced him, as if they assisted in bringing in the present to the king; for over them he could not have so much power as to dismiss them at pleasure; but the children of Israel that came along with him, and carried the present for him: these he dismissed, not in the presence of the king of Moab, but after he had taken his leave of him, and when he had gone on some way in his return home; and this he did for the greater secrecy of his design, and that he might when he had finished it the more easily escape alone, and be without any concern for or care of the safety of others.

Judges 3:18 In-Context

16 Ehud made a two-edged dagger for himself. He fastened it to his right side under his clothes.
17 Then he brought the tax payment to King Eglon. (Eglon was a very fat man.)
18 When Ehud had finished delivering the payment, he sent back the men who had carried it.
19 However, Ehud turned around at the stone idols near Gilgal [and returned to Eglon]. He said, "Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you." The king replied, "Keep quiet!" Then all his advisers left the room.
20 Ehud came up to him as he sat alone in his room on the roof. He said to the king, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his throne,
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