Judges3
English Standard Version
1Now are the the Lord , to by them, that is, in Israel had the in .
2It was in that the of the of might war, to to those had it .
3These are the nations: the of the and the and the and the who on , from as as .
4They were for the of , to whether Israel would the of the Lord, he their by the of .
5So the of the , the , the , the , the , and the .
6And their they to themselves for , and their own they to their , and they their .
7And the of what was in the of the Lord. They the Lord their and the and the .
8Therefore the of the Lord was against , and he them into the of of . And the of .
9But when the of to the Lord, the Lord a for the of , who them, the of , .
10The of the Lord was him, and he . He to , and the Lord of into his . And his .
11So the had . Then the of .
12And the of what was in the of the Lord, and the Lord the of against , because they had what was in the of the Lord.
13He to himself the and the , and and . And they took of the of .
14And the of the of .
15Then the of to the Lord, and the Lord for them a , , the of , the , a . The of to the of .
16And for himself a with , a in , and he it his his .
17And he the to of . Now was a .
18And when Ehud had the , he the who the .
19But he himself at the near and , I have a for you, O . And he , . And his from his .
20And to him as he was in his roof . And , I have a from for you. And he from his .
21And with his , the from his , and it into his .
22And the also the , and the the , he did the out of his ; and the .
23Then into the and the of the roof him and them.
24When he had , the , and when they that the of the roof were , they , he is in the closet of the .
25And they they were . But he still did the of the roof , they the and them, and there their on the .
26 while they , and he the and to .
27When he , he the in the of . Then the of with him from the , and he was their .
28And he to them, me, the Lord has your the into your . So they him and the of the against the and did to pass .
29And they at that about of the , , ; a .
30So was that the of . And the had for .
31 him was the of , who of the with an , and he .
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Judges 3.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The nations left to prove Israel. (1–7). Othniel delivers Israel. (8–11). Ehud delivers Israel from Eglon. (12–30). Shamgar delivers and judges Israel. (31).
vv1-7
As the Israelites were a type of the church on earth, they were not to be idle and slothful. The Lord was pleased to try them by the remains of the devoted nations they spared. Temptations and trials detect the wickedness of the hearts of sinners; and strengthen he graces of believers in their daily conflict with Satan, sin, and this evil world. They must live in this world, but they are not of it, and are forbidden to conform to it. This marks the difference between the followers of Christ and mere professors. The friendship of the world is more fatal than its enmity; the latter can only kill the body, but the former murders many precious souls.
vv8-11
The first judge was Othniel: even in Joshua's time Othniel began to be famous. Soon after Israel's settlement in Canaan their purity began to be corrupted, and their peace disturbed. But affliction makes those cry to God who before would scarcely speak to him. God returned in mercy to them for their deliverance. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Othniel. The Spirit of wisdom and courage to qualify him for the service, and the Spirit of power to excite him to it. He first judged Israel, reproved and reformed them, and then went to war. Let sin at home be conquered, that worst of enemies, then enemies abroad will be more easily dealt with. Thus let Christ be our Judge and Lawgiver, then he will save us.
vv12-30
When Israel sins again, God raises up a new oppressor. The Israelites did ill, and the Moabites did worse; yet because God punishes the sins of his own people in this world, Israel is weakened, and Moab strengthened against them. If lesser troubles do not do the work, God will send greater. When Israel prays again, God raises up Ehud. As a judge, or minister of Divine justice, Ehud put to death Eglon, the king of Moab, and thus executed the judgments of God upon him as an enemy to God and Israel. But the law of being subject to principalities and powers in all things lawful, is the rule of our conduct. No such commissions are now given; to pretend to them is to blaspheme God. Notice Ehud's address to Eglon. What message from God but a message of vengeance can a proud rebel expect? Such a message is contained in the word of God; his ministers are boldly to declare it, without fearing the frown, or respecting the persons of sinners. But, blessed be God, they have to deliver a message of mercy and of free salvation; the message of vengeance belongs only to those who neglect the offers of grace. The consequence of this victory was, that the land had rest eighty years. It was a great while for the land to rest; yet what is that to the saints' everlasting rest in the heavenly Canaan.
Key Words
אֵלֶּה: these or those
גּוֹי: a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts
אֲשֶׁר: who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.
יָנַח: to deposit; by implication, to allow to stay
נָסָה: to test; by implication, to attempt
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
יָדַע: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
מִלְחָמָה: a battle (i.e. the engagement); generally, war (i.e. warfare)
Cross References
Judges 3Moses explains God's purpose of leaving trials to 'prove' Israel and know what was in their hearts.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Direct parallel linking the remaining nations to proving whether Israel would keep the way of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Explicit Mosaic prohibition against intermarrying with these nations, which Israel directly violated here.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Establishes Othniel's family identity as Kenaz's son and Caleb's younger brother.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallel for the Spirit of the Lord coming upon a judge to empower them for military deliverance.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Identifies Jericho as the 'city of palm trees' which Eglon possessed.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Confirms the unique Benjamite military trait of being left-handed or ambidextrous.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Details the specific evil of serving Baalim and the groves/Ashtaroth.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Explains how God's anger burned hot and He sold Israel into the hands of spoilers.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Samuel's historical sermon recalling Israel forgetting God and being sold into the hand of Hazor and Moab.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Fulfillment of the covenant curse that Israel would serve their enemies for lack of joyful obedience.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
Deborah's song corroborates Shamgar's era of insecurity before deliverance came.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels Shamgar's unconventional ox-goad weapon with Samson's jawbone of an ass.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Nehemiah recalls how in their trouble, when they cried, God gave them saviours.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Later military use of the strategic 'fords of Jordan' to cut off enemy escape.
Supported by Matthew Poole