Judges 3:18

18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people that carried the tribute.

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 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded 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 that carried the tribute.
19 But he himself turned back at the sculptured stones 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.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.