Judges 3:18

18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it.

Judges 3:18 in Other Translations

KJV
18 And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.
ESV
18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.
NLT
18 After delivering the payment, Ehud started home with those who had helped carry the tribute.
MSG
18 After Ehud finished presenting the tribute, he went a little way with the men who had carried it.
CSB
18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people 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 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing.
17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.
18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it.
19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.” The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.
20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat,
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