The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
1 These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars.
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These are the nations that the LORD left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan.
2 He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war.
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He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.
3 He left the five Philistine tyrants, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Hamath's Pass.
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These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
4 They were there to test Israel and see whether they would obey God's commands that were given to their parents through Moses.
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These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the LORD had given to their ancestors through Moses.
5 But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
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So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
6 They married their daughters and gave their own daughters to their sons in marriage. And they worshiped their gods.
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and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods.
7 The People of Israel did evil in God's sight. They forgot their God and worshiped the Baal gods and Asherah goddesses.
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The Israelites did evil in the LORD ’s sight. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.
8 God's hot anger blazed against Israel. He sold them off to Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. The People of Israel were in servitude to Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years.
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Then the LORD burned with anger against Israel, and he turned them over to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim. And the Israelites served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.
9 The People of Israel cried out to God and God raised up a savior who rescued them: Caleb's nephew Othniel, son of his younger brother Kenaz.The Spirit of God came on him and he rallied Israel. He went out to war and God gave him Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim. Othniel made short work of him.
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But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz.
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The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge. He went to war against King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram, and the LORD gave Othniel victory over him.
11 The land was quiet for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
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So there was peace in the land for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
12 But the People of Israel went back to doing evil in God's sight. So God made Eglon king of Moab a power against Israel because they did evil in God's sight.
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Once again the Israelites did evil in the LORD ’s sight, and the LORD gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because of their evil.
13 He recruited the Ammonites and Amalekites and went out and struck Israel. They took the City of Palms.
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Eglon enlisted the Ammonites and Amalekites as allies, and then he went out and defeated Israel, taking possession of Jericho, the city of palms.
14 The People of Israel were in servitude to Eglon fourteen years.
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And the Israelites served Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.
15 The People of Israel cried out to God and God raised up for them a savior, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite. He was left-handed. The People of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon king of Moab.
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But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab.
16 Ehud made himself a short two-edged sword and strapped it on his right thigh under his clothes.
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So Ehud made a double-edged dagger that was about a foot long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing.
17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Eglon was grossly fat.
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He brought the tribute money to Eglon, who was very fat.
18 After Ehud finished presenting the tribute, he went a little way with the men who had carried it.
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After delivering the payment, Ehud started home with those who had helped carry the tribute.
19 But when he got as far as the stone images near Gilgal, he went back and said, "I have a private message for you, O king." The king told his servants, "Leave." They all left.
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But when Ehud reached the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back. He came to Eglon and said, “I have a secret message for you.” So the king commanded his servants, “Be quiet!” and he sent them all out of the room.
20 Ehud approached him - the king was now quite alone in his cool rooftop room - and said, "I have a word of God for you." Eglon stood up from his throne.
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Ehud walked over to Eglon, who was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you!” As King Eglon rose from his seat,
21 Ehud reached with his left hand and took his sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's big belly.
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Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.
22 Not only the blade but the hilt went in. The fat closed in over it so he couldn't pull it out.
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The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king’s fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king’s bowels emptied.
23 Ehud slipped out by way of the porch and shut and locked the doors of the rooftop room behind him.
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Then Ehud closed and locked the doors of the room and escaped down the latrine.
24 Then he was gone. When the servants came, they saw with surprise that the doors to the rooftop room were locked. They said, "He's probably relieving himself in the restroom."
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After Ehud was gone, the king’s servants returned and found the doors to the upstairs room locked. They thought he might be using the latrine in the room,
25 They waited. And then they worried - no one was coming out of those locked doors. Finally, they got a key and unlocked them. There was their master, fallen on the floor, dead!
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so they waited. But when the king didn’t come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the doors, they found their master dead on the floor.
26 While they were standing around wondering what to do, Ehud was long gone. He got past the stone images and escaped to Seirah.
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While the servants were waiting, Ehud escaped, passing the stone idols on his way to Seirah.
27 When he got there, he sounded the trumpet on Mount Ephraim. The People of Israel came down from the hills and joined him. He took his place at their head.
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When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Ehud sounded a call to arms. Then he led a band of Israelites down from the hills.
28 He said, "Follow me, for God has given your enemies - yes, Moab! - to you." They went down after him and secured the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites. They let no one cross over.
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“Follow me,” he said, “for the LORD has given you victory over Moab your enemy.” So they followed him. And the Israelites took control of the shallow crossings of the Jordan River across from Moab, preventing anyone from crossing.
29 At that time, they struck down about ten companies of Moabites, all of them well-fed and robust. Not one escaped.
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They attacked the Moabites and killed about 10,000 of their strongest and most able-bodied warriors. Not one of them escaped.
30 That day Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel. The land was quiet for eighty years.
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So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.
31 Shamgar son of Anath came after Ehud. Using a cattle prod, he killed six hundred Philistines single-handed. He too saved Israel.
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After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath rescued Israel. He once killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.