1These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2(he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
5The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Othniel
7The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,3:8 That is, North-west Mesopotamia to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge3:10 Or leader and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.3:13 That is, Jericho 14The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer – Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjaminite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. 16Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit3:16 That is, about 45 centimetres long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19But 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.
20Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24. and said, ‘I have a message from God for you.’ As the king rose from his seat, 21Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23Then Ehud went out to the porch3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
24After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, ‘He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the palace.’ 25They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.
26While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.
28‘Follow me,’ he ordered, ‘for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.’ So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab; they allowed no-one to cross over. 29At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.
Shamgar
31After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. He too saved Israel.
迦南餘族
1-2耶和華為了考驗那些沒有經歷過迦南戰事的以色列人，讓他們學習作戰，就留下了以下各族： 3五個非利士王、所有的迦南人、西頓人和住在巴力·黑門山到哈馬口一帶的黎巴嫩山區的希未人。 4耶和華留下這幾個外族是要考驗以色列人，看他們是否願意遵從祂藉摩西向他們祖先頒佈的誡命。 5以色列人住在這些迦南人、赫人、亞摩利人、比利洗人、希未人和耶布斯人當中， 6跟他們通婚，祭拜他們的神明。
士師俄陀聶
7以色列人做耶和華視為惡的事，忘記他們的上帝耶和華，祭拜假神巴力和亞舍拉。 8耶和華向他們發怒，把他們交在美索不達米亞王古珊·利薩田的手中，受古珊·利薩田統治八年。 9他們向耶和華呼求，耶和華就使一位名叫俄陀聶的拯救者興起，他是迦勒弟弟基納斯的兒子。 10耶和華的靈降在俄陀聶身上，他就做了以色列的士師，領兵出戰。耶和華將美索不達米亞王古珊·利薩田交在他手中，他便戰勝了古珊·利薩田。 11此後，國內安享太平四十年，直到俄陀聶去世。
士師以笏
12之後，以色列人又做耶和華視為惡的事，耶和華就使摩押王伊磯倫強盛起來，攻打以色列人。 13伊磯倫聯合亞捫人和亞瑪力人進攻以色列人，佔據了棕樹城， 14以色列人受摩押王伊磯倫統治十八年。 15他們呼求耶和華，耶和華就使一位名叫以笏的拯救者興起。他是便雅憫人基拉的兒子，善用左手。以色列人派他去向摩押王伊磯倫進貢。 16他造了一把約半米長的兩刃利劍，綁在右腿的衣服裡。 17他帶著貢物去見肥胖的摩押王伊磯倫。 18以笏獻上了貢物之後，便和抬貢物的人一起離去。 19到了吉甲附近雕石神像的地方，他讓抬貢物的人先回去，自己則折回王宮，對王說：「王啊，我有機密稟告。」王就命左右的人迴避，眾人便都退去了。 20當時王獨自坐在樓上的房間乘涼，以笏近前說：「我有從上帝而來的訊息要稟告。」王站起來的時候， 21以笏左手拔出藏在右腿上的劍刺進王的肚腹， 22連劍柄也刺了進去，深深嵌入肥肉。以笏沒有拔劍， 23便走出房間，把門都關上，鎖好。
24以笏走後，王的僕人過來，見房門緊鎖，以為王在大解。 25等了很久，門還沒開，他們很焦急，就拿鑰匙開門，發現他們的主人已經倒斃在地上。
26他們等待的時候，以笏已經逃走了。他經過雕石神像的地方，逃往西伊拉。 27到了那裡，他就在以法蓮的山區吹響號角，召集以色列人。眾人跟隨以笏下山， 28以笏對他們說：「跟我來！耶和華已經把仇敵摩押人交在你們手中了。」於是，眾人跟著他佔領了通往摩押的約旦河各渡口，不許任何人渡河。 29當時他們殺了約一萬名強悍善戰的摩押勇士，沒有一人逃脫。 30這樣，以色列人征服了摩押人，國中安享太平八十年。
珊迦
31以笏之後，亞拿的兒子珊迦拯救了以色列人。他曾用一根趕牛棍殺了六百名非利士人。
