Judges 3-4

New Life Version

The Nations That Are Still in the Land

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test Israel. They were left to test all those who had not fought in any of the wars in Canaan. ² So the children of the people of Israel who had not fought in wars might be taught about war. ³ These nations are: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. ⁴ They were left to test Israel, to find out if Israel would obey the Laws the Lord gave their fathers through Moses. ⁵ The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁶ They married their daughters. They gave their own daughters to their sons, and they worshiped their gods. ⁷ The people of Israel did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. ⁸ So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. The people of Israel worked for Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. ⁹ But the people of Israel cried to the Lord. And the Lord gave the people of Israel someone who would save them. He gave them Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he led Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. He was stronger than Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ The land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹² The people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord again. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab strength against Israel, because they had sinned in the eyes of the Lord. ¹³ Eglon gathered together with the people of Ammon and Amalek. They went and won the war against Israel. And they took the city of Jericho. ¹⁴ The people of Israel worked for Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord gave them someone to save them. He gave them Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent taxes by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶ Ehud made a sword for himself with two sharp sides, almost as long as an arm. He tied it to the top part of his right leg, under his coat. ¹⁷ Then he brought the taxes to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ When Ehud had finished paying the taxes, he sent away the people who had carried the taxes. ¹⁹ But he himself turned around at the stone gods of Gilgal and returned to Eglon, saying, “I have secret news for you, O king.” Eglon said, “Keep quiet.” And all who stood by him went away from him. ²⁰ Ehud came to him while Eglon was sitting alone in his summer room. And Ehud said, “I have news from God for you.” The king got up from his seat. ²¹ Ehud put out his left hand, took the sword from his right leg, and pushed it into Eglon’s stomach. ²² The whole sword went into his stomach and the fat closed over it. For he did not pull the sword out of his stomach. The insides of Eglon’s stomach ran out. ²³ Then Ehud went out the back way. He closed the doors of the summer room behind him, and locked them.

²⁴ When Ehud had gone out, Eglon’s servants came. They saw that the doors of the summer room were locked. So they said, “He is only resting in there away from the heat.” ²⁵ They waited until they were afraid because Eglon did not open the doors of the summer room. So they opened the lock and looked in the doors. And they found their owner lying dead on the floor.

²⁶ Ehud got away while they were waiting. He passed the stone gods and got away to Seirah. ²⁷ When he got there, he blew the horn in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country. Ehud went in front of them. ²⁸ He said to them, “Go after them. For the Lord has given into your hands the Moabites who hate you.” So they went down after him. They took over the crossing places of the Jordan beside Moab. And they did not let anyone cross. ²⁹ At that time they killed about 10,000 Moabites, all strong men with strength of heart. No one got away. ³⁰ So Moab was crushed under the power of Israel that day. And the land had rest for eighty years.

³¹ After Ehud, Shamgar the son of Anath became the leader. He killed 600 Philistines with a stick used to push cattle, and he also saved Israel.

Deborah and Barak

4 After Ehud died, the people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord again. ² So the Lord let them be taken by Jabin king of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor. The head of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. ³ The people of Israel cried to the Lord, for Jabin had 900 iron war-wagons. He made it very hard for the people of Israel for twenty years.

⁴ Now Lappidoth’s wife Deborah, a woman who spoke for God, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ She would sit under the tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim. And the people of Israel came to her to find out what was right or wrong. ⁶ She sent for Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedeshnaphtali, and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Go to Mount Tabor. Take with you 10,000 men from the sons of Naphtali and Zebulun. ⁷ I will have Sisera, the head of Jabin’s army, meet you at the river Kishon. He will have his war-wagons and his many soldiers with him. But I will give him into your hand.’” ⁸ Then Barak said to her, “I will go if you go with me. But if you do not go with me, I will not go.” ⁹ And she said, “For sure I will go with you. But the honor will not be yours as you go on your way. For the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to come to Kedesh. He went up with 10,000 men. And Deborah went up with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had gone away from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. He had put up his tent as far away as the big tree in Zaanannim, near Kedesh.

¹² They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. ¹³ Sisera gathered together all his 900 iron war-wagons. He gathered together all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. ¹⁴ Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! For this is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. See, the Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, and 10,000 men followed him. ¹⁵ The Lord brought trouble upon Sisera and all his war-wagons and all his army in front of Barak with the sword. Sisera got down from his war-wagon and ran away on foot. ¹⁶ But Barak went after the war-wagons and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim. All of Sisera’s army fell by the sword. Not one was left.

¹⁷ Sisera ran away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. ¹⁸ Jael went out to meet Sisera, saying, “Come in, my lord. Come in to me. Do not be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she put a cover over him. ¹⁹ He said to her, “Give me a little water to drink. For I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin bag of milk and gave him a drink. Then she covered him. ²⁰ He said to her, “Stand in the door of the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is there anyone here?’ you say, ‘No.’” ²¹ But Heber’s wife Jael took a big tent nail in her hand and a tool to hit it with. Because Sisera was very tired, he went into a deep sleep. She went to him in secret and hit the big nail into the side of his head. It went through and into the ground. So he died. ²² As Barak came after Sisera, Jael came out to meet him. She said to him, “Come. I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak went in with her, and he saw Sisera lying dead with the big tent nail in his head.

²³ God put Jabin the king of Canaan under the power of the people of Israel on that day. ²⁴ The people of Israel made it harder and harder for Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed him.